tree warden 2

“Already now the snow-drop dares appear,

The first pale blossom of the unripened year;

As Flora’s breath, by some transforming power,

Had changed an icicle into a flower:

Its name and hue the scentless plant retains,

And winter lingers in its icy veins.”

From “The Invitation”

by Anna Laetitia Barbauld (1743 - 1825)

In December, we had a Christmas card from Perth, Scotland. It was from my elderly aunt and, in addition to the usual seasonal greeting, it said, “Much snow!” The December whiteout seemed to last forever but at least we had the Christmas and New Year celebrations to look forward to. January, by contrast, has started off black and dirty with long hours of darkness and only Burns Night to celebrate. However, on any bright day we can hear the birds sing and see the rooks busy with their nests. Closer inspection reveals signs that spring is not too far away with catkins appearing on the hazels and buds coming out on all sorts of trees. Some of the winter flowering shrubs, such as viburnam, witch hazel, wintersweet, Christmas box and the stalwart winter jasmine, are starting to reveal their jewels. Some bulbs are also peeping through with snowdrops and aconites preparing for their early appearances. Winter shows the bones of our gardens and is the time for evergreens to prove their worth. If you have the patience for topiary, the shapes created look wonderful when white with frost. On some of those mornings that we experienced really wicked hoar frosts, the low morning sun had a pink hue and the countryside was breathtakingly beautiful.

February is a time for tidying up and carrying out a bit of pruning; roses, later flowing clematis and wisteria all benefit from a bit of maintenance at this time. The wisteria’s long whippy shoots that are cut back to a one foot length in August should in February, be cut again - but this time to a finger’s length; easy measurements to remember. It is usually best to prune deciduous trees when they are dormant in late autumn/early winter, before spring growth commences. Many trees exude sap in late winter/early spring and will “bleed” if cut at this time. Trees that bleed a lot, including birches, horse chestnuts, walnuts, maples and cherries, should be pruned in mid summer, after new growth has matured. Evergreens need little or no pruning, except to remove dead, damaged or diseased growth or badly positioned branches. Their pruning is best done in late summer. For work on large trees of any type it’s best to consult an expert.

There’s no doubt that some of our wildlife will have really suffered during the prolonged freeze. Fortunately, large numbers of people put out various foods that will have been a lifeline to many birds. Some specialist feeders like owls, herons and kingfishers will have struggled to find enough to eat but pigeons, doves and members of the crow family don’t generally seem to do too badly, even in the worst of weathers. We often experience heavy rains in February which fill ditches, streams and rivers to overflowing - often flooding surrounding countryside. It hardly seems possible that small mammals such as mice, moles and voles and the myriad forms of invertebrate life survive the inundation without their numbers appearing to decrease too dramatically. They always seem to be flourishing by the time that summer comes around.

Pheasants regularly come out of the field adjoining our garden to glean what they can from beneath the bird tables. Angus, our neighbours’ beautiful white cat, is fascinated by them and tries to sneak closer but the cock pheasant fixes him with a steely eye, makes himself as tall as possible and gives a confident call as if to say “Yeah, just try it!” Angus always decides that discretion is the better part of valour and, duly chastened, he retreats. Pheasants are common in open-wooded areas, farmland with reasonable cover and in “sporting” woods. It is thought that they were originally introduced to Britain during the Roman occupation but there are no firm records here until the 11th century when they featured on various banquet menus. The earliest introductions were almost certainly the Southern Caucasus pheasant, called the Old English black neck here. During the 18th century, further birds were brought from China that had a distinctive white collar. These, along with further introductions, have freely interbred with the original stock so that today the wild pheasant is a true hybrid.

I like to hibernate a bit in January - I feel no need to garden just yet - with cooking and reading in the

warm my preference. I’m waiting for the Seville oranges to appear in the shops so that I can make some marmalade. Almost all citrus fruits originated in China and South-East Asia. The Seville, or bitter, orange, (Citrus aurantium), has fruit so sour that it is practically inedible unless cooked but it does make good marmalade, of which, incidentally, Britain has the highest consumption per head in the world. This fruit was introduced to Spain by the Arabs, (who brought it from Asia), and it is still grown there today to supply the British market. It is the hardiest of all oranges trees and for this reason it was used as a rootstock for grafting until it was discovered to be susceptible to tristeza virus, a damaging citrus disease. Perhaps this hardiness also explains why it was once cultivated in England. Orangeries were built to protect the plants from frost but, once the weather became “settled”, the trees, in tubs on wheels, were rolled out for the summer. In February, Tim and I intend to roll out for the day to visit the excellent winter gardens at the National Trust’s Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire. The birch groves there are spectacular and the winter flowering shrubs smell divine; and they sell plants!