January is a time in the garden where you have to look closely for flowers, but they are there if you look. Iris reticulata start to appear, along with the snowdrops towards the end of the month, but witch hazel and Viburnums are looking lovely at this time of year and the Christmas box is smelling divine.

January is a good time to get on top on the garden maintenance, as the winter is the one time of year you can move faster than the garden and there is no lawn mowing or much watering to be done.

Last years beds have had a good tidy up and old growth put onto the compost heap, the lawn had been re edged, pots have had one water to get them through the winter months, some shrubs have been pruned, the last of the leaves had been collected to make leaf mold, some new beds are now underway, trialling the no dig method as advocated by Charles Dowding, the last of the tulip bulbs have gone in and ranunculus and sweet peas have been planted and sown.

There is still loads to do, but that is always the way in gardening and the next month brings a list of new jobs, but there are always seed catalogues to browse on gloomy, cold days to dream about what the summer will bring.