Winter Repairs

It’s been a hard winter for commuters, shoppers and Mums doing the school run, but gardens haven’t had an easy time of it either. Driving rain, sleet, snow and freezing nights, followed by more of the same for days on end, have left lawns, beds and borders looking more than a little bit bashed. And the very best thing you can do in the short term is to leave well alone until conditions improve.

But once a combination of drying wind and sun start making the ground firmer underfoot so you can venture onto the grass without your feet sinking in - which in some areas may not be for a while yet - it’s time to start taking some gentle remedial action.

First the lawn. If yours is on clay soil or low-lying ground which stays naturally soggy, sprinkle sharp horticultural sand thinly and evenly all over the surface using about a shovelful per square yard, and work it in with a besom broom or a rubber rake. This simple remedy firms up the turf and improves surface drainage and aeration, which helps the grass to grow better at the same time as discouraging moss or slippery green slime and liverwort. But treat any lawn with care; if you need to use a barrow for pushing tools or heavy gardening materials across the grass, don’t risk leaving wheel-ruts - unroll a temporary slatted path.

Next come borders. Long spells of compaction and waterlogging can be a real problem for dormant roots, so loosen the surface of the soil by forking it lightly all over to fluff it up slightly, but take care not to injure bulbs or dormant crowns of perennials plants. Again this helps with drainage and aeration. Some plants with fleshy roots or storage organs are specially at risk of rotting when soil conditions are none too clever, so work some gritty sand or pea-sized shingle in carefully all round at-risk clumps of plants such as lilies, crown imperials and eremurus. Use about a bucketful per square yard. The ‘grit treatment’ also is just what the doctor ordered for many slightly tender shrubby subjects; pay particular attention to Mediterranean-type plants (lavenders, thymes, sages, rosemaries and cistus for instance) and Californian plants (including Fremontodendron and Carpenteria).

It’s worth checking all round your patio, too. Some clay, terracotta or ceramic containers may have cracked; when wet compost freezes, it expands, and something has to ‘give’ – so a little repotting may be needed. You might also find some plants, even reliably hardy ones, have died off if their roots remained frozen solid in blocks of icy compost for any length of time, so some replanting may also be in order – wait and see.

But be positive; a bad winter is just the excuse you need for splashing out on a few new plants. And think what it’ll have done to reduce the slug, snail and general pest population.