January Garden Advice
The gray pre-dawn
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A few weeks ago, my wife casually observed that she wanted a January where it snowed “a few lovely, unobtrusive inches every week or so. Not enough to shovel, just enough to be pretty.” Well, she must have the ear of the Almighty because, so far, the weather has dutifully done exactly that. On the day before yesterday, I woke in the gray pre-dawn to a gentle snowfall that adorned every branch, bough, and railing without burdening or bending anything, a landscape over which the first restless cardinals darted like impatient motes of flame.
Over the last two weeks of relative stillness, I’ve felt richly thankful for the chance to work with the students and landscapes of the Classical Roots Program, and have been using the quiet to read gardening books, make observations, think, and scheme about the future. Years ago, my very first ideas for Classical Roots hit me like a ton of bricks, falling into place without effort after a long season of contemplation. At the risk of getting ahead of myself, I had a similar experience last week, where some key questions about the program’s shape and future suddenly found good, organized answers that sent me scrambling for something to write with in order to jot it all down. Once I’ve refined them, those plans will affect both the in-school programming and this newsletter. I’m excited about the future in both arenas, and I think you will be too.
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In the meantime, here are some gardening tasks for the month:
1/ Refamiliarize Yourself With the Garden
Though January’s weather is still brutal in much of the Northern Hemisphere, the passing of the Winter Solstice means that, every day, we’re given a little more light by which to see the garden and work in it. Practically speaking, there’s very little to be done, but January is still an excellent time to take your first forays out into the garden and familiarize yourself with it. Chances are, you’ve been focused inward and indoors for the last few weeks, and this new encounter will be fresh. Take honest stock of how your space has been used, what you liked, and what you would like to change. If you have an established garden, the changes you need to make will largely involve cutting and restricting. If you’re planning something new, now is the time to begin to draw its lines in your mind. You can also do a little winter pruning, but don’t get rid of all of the leftovers from last year’s growth, since is provides excellent cover for insects and animals.
2/ Identify Ugliness and Make Plans to Screen It
I’ve recently been enjoying Monty Don’s fantastic compendium of gardening advice, Down to Earth; a book which amounts to a long series of adages, each of which distills years’ worth of relevant advice. One piece of advice expecially caught my eye: “Accept no ugliness as a given. When you find ugliness in your garden, make plans to remove it, or if, that’s impossible, to screen it.” This admonition made me realize that I had indeed been accepting a whole lot of uglness as a given, partly out of a lack of problem solving, and partly out of a kind of false humility. But gardens are created spaces, retreats from the larger world, where the normal rules don’t have to apply. So, if you have ugliness in your garden, remember that you aren’t required to live with it. You can put up a fence, plant a hedge, or rip things wholesale out of the ground. Be bloody, bold, and resolute.
3/ Top Up Your Gardening Knowledge
Speaking of gardening books, these quiet winter weeks are the right time to catch up on the classic books in this genre and expande your practical knowledge in the coming season. I’ve written a whole list of my own recommendaitons, but you can’t go wrong with anything by Monty Don, Beth Chatto, or Christopher Lloyd. If you want more Classical Roots in your life, you can also refer friends to this newsletter and get rewarded with a free PDF of my best personal garden advice.
More to come soon. In the meantine, be well, and happy gardening.
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