15 New Year resolutions your garden will thank you for
I love making new year resolutions. What’s not to like about anticipating an improved version of yourself that’s motivated to achieve all sorts of new challenges? While some are left racking their brains just before midnight only to come up with run-of-the-mill goals – eat healthily, go to the gym, read the classics – I tend to focus on my little urban plot, and the ideas spring up all over the place like sun spurge seedlings between the paving stones.
After all, at this time of year, when it’s hard to get outside, it’s almost therapeutic to think ahead to the warmer weather and make the necessary plans to redouble your efforts in the garden. Sure, most of my resolutions don’t run the distance – I didn’t find a local, derelict patch to re-wild this year – but the important thing is to embrace the optimism of making them in the first place.
Whatever happens after that is a bonus. So, if you’re in need of inspiration to make yours this year, I have quizzed a number of green-fingered friends to find out what’s on their list for 2023. You’re welcome…
‘Work out the priorities for the day in advance and stick to the list in that order’
Carol Klein, TV presenter and writer
About 20 years ago I resolved not to make any more resolutions. Without exception I had failed to keep those I had made and invariably I felt guilty about it. In recent years my tactics have changed. A lot of my earlier resolutions were about not doing things: for example, don’t leave your tools outside, or don’t overfill the wheelbarrow because you are too lazy to push it to the compost heap promptly.
Nowadays I’m much more interested in the positive, resolving to do things that will help. Before I start sounding too sanctimonious, let me just say that I’m seldom truly successful. But gardening is a process, not a one-off, get-it-all-finished sort of activity, and for me my resolutions should have a similar time scale. The new year is not January 1, it is 2023, and it will be a new year until 2024.
Resolution one: Don’t get sidetracked
Resolve to go out into the garden having thought for a few minutes first about priorities for the day and then try and stick to the list in that order. It is so tempting to think, on your way to some vital pruning or staking job, “I can’t possibly not get rid of that bitter cress right now,” and find yourself towards the end of the afternoon, still in the same flower bed having still not righted those wayward veronicastrums.
Resolution two: Share seed
Collect seeds from the garden, and put them in recycled bags or envelopes with the name of the plant written on the envelope before you collect it, as it’s impossible to write legibly on lumpy bags full of stems and equally impossible to remember exactly which seeds they are when you come to clean them weeks later. Be strict and confine seed collecting to dry days, and of course, give surplus seeds away.
Resolution three: Take better care of tools
You won’t regret it. Clean them, sharpen them, hang them up after using and you’ll never waste time again. I’m lucky enough to have some of the best secateurs – Niwaki – on the planet, but I’m far too careless with them and often can’t find them. My husband, Neil, always sharpens my secateurs, shears and snips, but I’m going to hone my sharpening skills and ask for a new year lesson, then try to do it myself in future – regularly!
‘Every month reach for a good gardening calendar’
Graham Dillamore, deputy head of gardens and estates at Historic Royal Palaces
For the gardener, January resolutions fall at an unhelpful time of year. Trees, bulbs and shrubs have often been planted already and the garden has been put to bed, enjoying a deep sleep. That was before climate change. What’s happened to that dormant period?
It seems “go-to” winter jobs are a thing of the past. I once spent months double-digging for no apparent reason other than to keep me warm through winter – and now they tell us digging is not a good idea after all. The only gardener who doesn’t make mistakes is the one who does nothing. It’s true.
Resolution one: Mulch
In January, it does no harm to look back and remember what happened the previous summer. I recall our formal lawns being a shade of brown. Things have recovered as they always do, but boy was that hot. With that brutal summer in mind, my resolution for 2023 is, mulch, mulch and mulch.
It doesn’t have to be expensive or sophisticated just as long as you get a good, thick protective covering on the soil. Last spring, we used a mulch in the King’s Privy Garden at Hampton Court. There are large areas of bare soil on view, which does us no favours when it comes to maintenance. The mulch snuffed out many of the weeds, improved the appearance and, importantly, retained moisture.
Resolution two: Prune
For some, the minefield of what, when and how to prune is enough reason to put away the secateurs, but with a bit of planning, pruning doesn’t have to be complicated. You are not alone, so every month reach for a good online gardening calendar, magazine or book.
Resolution three: Visit more gardens
I tell myself to do this every new year. With thousands to choose from and new ones opening all the time, I simply need to make a greater effort and get out there.
‘Plant to attract wildlife into your garden and grow as much as you can from seed’
John Myers, head gardener at Ham House
I do have resolutions or things that I’d like to do in 2023, but they don’t all have to happen in January. One thing that stands out is doing more for birds, small mammals and insects – creating the right habitat for them within the garden. I feel I should do my bit to help fight biodiversity decline.
Resolution one: Put up a solitary bee house
Bee houses are easy to put up and great to watch when the bees are at work. They can be bought ready to mount for as little as £20, or built with an old wine box and some bamboo canes – a great mini project to do with children.
Resolution two: Plant more plants for wildlife
Go for good food for pollinators, which are single flowers with a nice open centre so that the insects can reach the nectar – for example, tithonia, zinnias or single hollyhocks. Night-scented flowers such as honeysuckle or jasmine are a great food plant for moth species and berry-producing shrubs and trees such as Sambucus ‘Black Lace’ or Malus floribunda have great flowers for bees; the fruit is also a good source of food for birds in the autumn months.
Resolution three: Grow much more from seeds
If you’re not tempted to go down Carol’s route of saving seed (see below left, it’s still much cheaper to buy than mature plants and it’s a great way to affordably fill your outside space with plants and flowers. Seeds can be directly sown in spring or grown in the window sill from mid-February onwards, so it’s a good idea to choose your seeds and get set up with seed compost (preferably peat-free) and some pots to sow into.
I put a date in my calendar with an alert to remind me to get sowing, with multiple alerts for seed that needs sowing in different months of the year. Good seeds for beginners are sweet pea, pot marigold, foxgloves and zinnias.
‘Grow drought-tolerant plants and get them established before the hotter summer months’
Paul Collins, senior gardener at Ickworth House
Extreme weather conditions in recent years have challenged the way I plant and cultivate gardens. The garden team at Ickworth have over 75 acres of gardens to maintain, which consists of pleasure grounds, herbaceous borders, a walled garden, an Italianate garden, a stumpery and many potted plants.
These areas all require regular watering to maintain the standard of presentation for visitors. I have noticed that many of our trees suffered heavily in this recent summer, which started early and saw some extreme heat. This is something the gardening team will have to keep under review.
For the new year I am thinking about the extreme weather conditions that plants might have to endure and how I am going to conserve water adequately. I will be keeping a record of sunny and shady areas at different times of the day and identify the areas that are the sunniest for the longest amounts of time for drought-tolerant plants.
Resolution one: Use a watering can and install a water butt
We do not use a hose while watering our plant pots, to avoid wasting water. It is important to add that watering early in the morning or late in the evening is beneficial as the sun in the day will cause water particles to evaporate.
We have a number of water butts at Ickworth, which are vital for reducing our water consumption. Rainwater is actually excellent for plants, too, as it often has a lower pH balance than mains water.
Resolution two: Always carry a pocket notepad
I always carry a small notepad so I can record plant names and ideas that I may think up or someone has suggested. I also make a note of any changes to a plant that I notice so I have an ongoing record.
Resolution three: Plant drought-tolerant plants
We are always looking at ways we can reduce water consumption and the planting of drought-tolerant plants helps. It is also beneficial to try to plant during spring and autumn as this gives your plants a chance to get established before the hotter summer months.
‘Keep the soil in your garden as healthy as possible by making your own compost’
Sam Hickmott, head gardener at Lytes Cary Manor and Tintinhull Garden
As useful as they are, I rarely make new year’s resolutions simply because I tend to find that I’m constantly thinking about what to improve and where to work on next anyway. Whether it’s a whole area of the garden that needs rejuvenating or a single plant that’s not happy among its neighbours, there are always aspects that need refining.
We’re always looking at ways of making the gardens more sustainable as well as more beautiful, and the main thing I’d like to resolve next year is the use of chemical weed killers. While we don’t use any at all at Tintinhull, we’re still using a little in the courtyard and car park at Lytes Cary.
Chemical weed killers are likely harmful to human health, as well as that of local wildlife, and I feel as horticulturists we should be striving to improve the range of wildlife as much as we can – if only to help keep the number of slugs down! I’m exploring a number of options that may provide a more sustainable alternative to chemical weedkillers next year.
Resolution one: Reduce the use of chemical weedkillers by digging
While pernicious taprooted weeds such as dandelions and docks put up a good fight when trying to dig them out, doing that is not only better for the local wildlife, it is also often more effective, too. Why not try asking a friend or neighbour to give you a hand and pay them back with some of the lovely plants and produce you’ll then be able to grow?
Resolution two: Look after your soil
Another way to improve the local environment is to keep the soil in your garden as healthy as possible. At Lytes Cary and Tintinhull, we make our own compost from plant material in the gardens, then every November start mulching all of our beds and borders.
This protects the soil from erosion and nutrient-leaching during the winter months, as well as improving soil structure, adding some nutrients back to the soil and helping to retain moisture in the dry summer months. It also helps to keep down annual weeds and suppress some diseases.
Resolution three: Embrace a bit of mess
We can also actively help the wildlife in our gardens by leaving herbaceous perennials standing until the spring. This provides food for valuable predatory birds and insects as well as creating a structure that is so often enhanced by beautiful frosty winter mornings.
What gardening tips and tricks do you have for 2023? Tell us in the comments below
