Blog: The bleakest of months can be lifted by the simplest of plants
Don’t shut up shop in your garden from October – if you don’t know what to grow in January, here’s some inspiration from my borders and pots.
This year, I’m doing a top three each month of star performers. They’ve got to be good to make the list – that should be impossible in the summer! I’m hoping that this will be helpful to beginners or those on a budget who can invest hard-earned cash in these winners.
What to grow in January – sweet box (Sarcococca confusa)
If you only grow one plant for winter, make it a sweet box (sometimes called Christmas box). Inconspicuous for most of the year, its tiny flowers produce the most powerful scent from January-March. This shrub also has long-lasting, black, shiny berries and shiny evergreen leaves.
Sweet box is versatile – it will grow in sun, dappled shade or shade, in a large pot or a border. It will even tolerate dry shade. I grow mine in a vibrant blue ceramic pot next to a winter seating area so we can appreciate the fragrance. It’s underplanted with single snowdrops. When they both fade, I either move it out of the way or direct sow nasturtiums into the pot. Height 2m x spread 1m, less in pots. Hardy to -15C.
Euphorbia characias subs. wulfenii
I love all sorts of Euphorbias (spurges), but E. characias subsp. wulfenii has to be my favourite. Don’t be put off by the horrendous name! If your soil is free-draining, it’s trouble-free – I added grit when planting in the border. Those blue-green leaves and that architectural shape have an almost prehistoric air.
You’ll notice many of the taller stem tips are bent over – this means they’re about to flower. Expect huge heads of lime green flowers (bracts) with bronze eyes from March to May. Originating from the Mediterranean, it loves the sun and is drought-tolerant. Plants do self-seed – this is a second-generation individual. They don’t often come ‘true’ (identical to their parents. This one has slightly smaller flower heads than the original but more of them.
Interestingly, each stem is biennial, with leaves in the first year and flowers in the second. Once flowered, cut out the stem at the base in midsummer. Finally, the milky sap is an irritant and poisonous, so wear gloves. Height 1.2m x spread 1.2m. Hardy to -10C.
What to grow in January – Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)
After decades of gardening, I finally have my first snowdrops! I did overlook them, but as one gardening friend once said, ‘the older you get, the more you appreciate the small things!’ Our native single snowdrops have solitary, nodding, fragrant white flowers 2.5cm long, the inner segments marked with green at the tip.
The simplicity of the flowers makes them a great companion for the sweet box (see above). The vibrant blue of the ceramic pot they live in really shows them off to their best. They’re made for each other, especially in a winter seating area, where you can examine the perfect little flowers.
They have a host of common names, including Candlemas bells, Candlemas lily, common bells, fair maids of February, little sister of the snows and the purification flower. They’re a serious addiction for many! Height 10cm x spread less than 10cm. Hardy to -15C.
