Winter in the Secret Garden

What’s it like in the Winter at Carey’s Secret Garden?

How is the project at Carey coming along ‘behind the scenes’, and what should we be doing in our own gardens at this time of year?

Head Gardener Paul Scriven, and Garden Designer Dan Smith reveal all in their latest blog post.

For most people, January is probably considered a dead month in the garden. However, despite the sometimes harsh weather, there can be many plants on which the flowers look and smell absolutely stunning at this time of year.

A shortlist of Paul’s ‘must haves’ for January for you to check out include:

Hamamelis

Lonicera x purpusii

Sarcococca hookeriana var humilis

Cornus alba 'Siberica'

Daphne bholua

Helleborus niger

Chimonanthus praecox

Behind the scenes at Carey, what’s Dan been up to this month?

After a short Christmas break, we’ve been back behind the walls and rediscovering the food forest area in the Secret Garden.

The first layout we designed back in Winter 2020/2021 didn’t quite come to fruition as unfortunatley we ran out of time before opening the garden up to the public. Having tried to rewild itself for most of 2021, we’ve now rediscovered the original pathways we’d marked out.

In hindsight, the unintentional stepping back from this area has actually been rather beneficial as it’s given us time to rethink, and improve, the orginal layout.

We’ve made a few changes, and we’re pleased to announce a plan for the far western corner of this area to become a ‘fungi fun house!’ - watch this space!

Working through the borders alongside our wonderfully dedicated team of volunteers, at the end of January we’ll be planting more fruit trees and bushes. Due to the scale of the space available, and the time needed to manage the site, various areas will become ‘no dig’; covered in cardboard and heavily mulched so (hopefully) nature will work her magic so that in 2023 we can complete the planting of this area.

What are the gardeners most looking forward to in 2022?

We are very excited to see how our younger visitors will be engaging with the Stumpery and dedicated child’s areas in the garden as these have been developed further during the winter months. Dan has completely transformed the Stumpery, it looks magical! The goal here is to encourage children to enjoy gardening through play. If we can achieve this then their interest, respect, and enthusiasm for plants and nature will grow organically, helping to build a better future for everyone and every living thing in our beautiful world.

Dan has also been reimagining the design for the vegetable growing area at Carey. We’ve seen the final design and trust us when we say; this will be no ordinary veggie patch! Interactive, immersive, diverse, delicious and educational, we can’t wait to start work on it! Secret veggie boxes may well become a ‘thing’!

Paul’s top tips for January in your garden:

This month, as long as the soil isn't too frozen or waterlogged, it’s a good time to be moving any deciduous trees or shrubs that you thought back in June weren’t in a very good position (just remember to take as much of the root system and the heavy soil around it as you can when you relocate it).

Check on your plants in the greenhouse for mould, and remove any affected leaves. Take care not to overwater and always ensure there is adequate ventilation.

Take root cuttings from perennials such as oriental poppies, phlox, and primulas.

Take hardwood cuttings of shrubs such as dogwoods, roses, forsythia, and elder.

Begin sowing early vegetable crops such as tomatoes undercover and chitting early potatoes.

Plant bare-root trees and hedging, ensuring trees are properly staked to anchor roots securely.

Check all tree ties from last year ensuring they are secure but not so tight as to restrict the growth of the tree.

Winter prune non-stone fruit trees such as apples and pears. You can leave plums and cherries etc. to later in the year.

On particularly foul days - simply stay inside, pour yourself a glass of your favourite tipple, and if you haven't already done so, order your vegetable & flower seeds for the year ahead! It’s a gardener’s life for me!

Thank you for reading our blog, we look forward to welcoming you all back to the garden when we re-open at the beginning of February. Book tickets here.

See you soon!