A Snow Garden?

(Jan-Feb) 

As we are still in the depths of winter the land is sleeping and spring feels a long way off, but it’s always nice to plan on what we might get growing in the months ahead. With gardening it's always best to think before you sow, making the middle of winter the ideal time to think what gardening project you might like to embark upon for the year. Whether you are a seasoned allotmenteer or a newbie apartment dweller with a free windowsill who just wants to try growing a cactus there is a plant for everyone.

As we wait for the long nights of winter to shorten there are some good principles to bear in mind with planning your project:

• Something that is not designed to be sustainable is almost certain to be unsustainable. It’s always tempting to want to go from nought to sixty and create a mini-farm or house jungle (I have done this enough times). Start small and build your way up, that way it stays manageable and most importantly, fun!

• If you are planning to grow food crops, it’s best to aim for some combination of the below:
  
  

1. Grow things you know you like and in quantities you know you can use; a large cabbage patch may look fantastic but if you aren’t a sauerkraut fan you may end up with more than you can manage. 
   
   
2. If you are looking to save money growing crops, those that are most expensive in the shops will help maximise your returns. If you have a small space this could be a nice windowsill herb garden or if you have a balcony or garden some salad crops and soft fruit. If you have a slightly larger space and you want to really cut down on the shopping bills you can also go for some staple crops that have high yields which in itself can save money by quantity. Homegrown tomatoes, for example, are hard to beat and if you can grow a few vines you can save a fortune!​
   
   

• If you are growing ornamentals, try not to be too optimistic with the Scottish climate:

 

1. Some remarkably exotic plants can be grown on a sunny window indoors but there are limits on what can live on the diffuse sunlight at our high latitude, even with our long summer days. A plant such as Aloe Vera will grow splendidly but many plants from equatorial regions may struggle.
   
   
2. Outdoor growing of course merits even greater caution for growing ornamentals. Some plants can be put out for the summer and overwintered indoors and others are hardy year-round, but always have a wee chat with the folks at your local garden centre when buying plants to double-check.

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In the next post we’ll be looking at ideas for getting your seedlings started and other fun tips for the spring and I hope you have fun with horticultural scheming in the meantime!