It’s January, the month of new resolutions and new beginnings. If you’ve made any New Year resolutions, I hope they are going better than mine. However, I’m happy I’ve got three new beginnings to tell you about this month.
The first is my new historical mystery novel, which is due to be published in February on Amazon and other online bookstores worldwide. It has a dual timeline and is set on the sweeping coastline of County Wexford in Ireland, with a modern day story in an old rambling house and a mystery set in late Victorian Ireland in the 1890s. You can read the book description here.
Scrapbook the newsletter - all welcome!
Secondly, I’m expanding my free monthly newsletter Scrapbook in 2021 to include more garden photos, tips on growing plants from experts, historical images and stories, snippets about folklore, special offers and competitions. Lots of fun, as well as some details about my own books.
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The Winter Garden - some planting ideas
Finally, I don’t know about you but winter is a difficult time in my garden, which is at its best during spring and summer. This year we had the strange sight of a single rose blooming on Christmas day, but a magnificent golden display from a mature Mahonia outside the front door helped keep the winter blues away.
My thanks go to the team at Landscape Restoration, who helped with plant advice in my novel The Neglected Garden. They have provided some cheerful ideas for anyone who would like to have more colour in the garden at this time of year.
Iris reticulata - A vivid splash of bright blue and yellow. A dwarf iris that bears fragrant early flowers and is ideal for planting in a rockery or at the front of borders. You can also grow it in a pot in a greenhouse or conservatory or in a container on the patio. This plant likes well-drained neutral or slightly alkaline soil. Easy to grow. Propagate by lifting and separating the bulbs in early Autumn.
Helleborus niger, the Christmas Rose, comes in a variety of shades from deep wine to blush pink to creamy or pure white. The plants form clumps with elegant flowers that can be cut and floated in a shallow bowl of water with candles for a special dinner table display. Helleborus niger likes moist fertile soils and prefers partial shade but will tolerate sun. You often see them growing in clumps under trees or shrubs. They need shelter from cold winds and do well if given a mulch in autumn.
Chimonanthus praecox has a wonderful perfume in the winter garden. It will grow up to at least 2.5 metres against a wall and likes a sheltered position in full sun. Useful for informal gardens, city and courtyard gardens and larger flower and shrub borders.
A hen in the winter garden belonging to Landscape Restoration.
If you’d like to discover more plants for splashes of colour and fragrant scent in your winter garden, click here:
The January Garden - for winter colour and scent
Thank you for reading. I’ll let you know more about The Family Shadow next month.
All the best,
Suzanne