Anyone else really missing their garden?!

[Curver]

A bit of a pity post but I am really missing pottering around my garden. Other than occasionally raking the leaves, there isn’t much to do right now. Have I completely lost the plot or are there other mnetters yearning for their garden. My houseplants are also struggling.

Yes, I am. It’s dark when I get home from work so only get to see it at weekends! My snowdrops are up and budding though and my other bulbs are growing so won’t be long before life starts again.

The birds are starting to sing and the days are slooowly lengthening in SE England so I can see (literally) a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. There's a bag of bark chips that have been sitting out there since October that need spreading, so I might get out and do that today.

I’m bed bound at the moment for a couple of weeks but can see the snowdrops on the lawn. They are cheering me up

Every single year l say to myself garden is choc-a- bloc no more plants, and from Sept to Dec l am restrained, only for all hell to let loose come January.
I have seed packets coming out of my ears, online orders on their way and items l don't really need sitting in baskets on literally every online garden retail site.
I want the bold look, the relaxed look, the natural look, the every colour under the sun look. I want to grow literally every specie of flower, every year l try something different then tell myself this is what on sticking with, only to get side tracked the next season.
But l absolutely love it.
This time of the year is hard for me and for some reason l now seen to have developed another healthy addiction. The forrest. The forrest has now become my second home, no flowers but being surrounded by trees and bird song is incredibly calming. I'm lucky to have a friend with same love of nature, we go together with flasks and snacks.

This is me. I find that I like a lot of gardens and there isn't any cohesive plan to what I plant. I like all the flowers, all the grasses, all the blossom trees, all the other trees, all of it. I twitch every time I see an olive tree in the clearance! I can't help myself. Very soon I will have an olive grove going.

Last spring I took some hydrangea cuttings that actually took unexpectedly; I thought they would die. Now I have 6 hydrangeas that I want to put into the ground and possibly take more cuttings this year. I can't wait to get them out of the pots and into the ground.

I also want to plant a lavender border along the back patio edge and at the front of the house but there just isn't enough day light and when there is it is raining. And whilst I did start with one of the lavender plants, it was very difficult to dig and being clay, I will need to really enrich the soil by adding more organic matter to it. I am itching to start.

But yes, like others, the spring bulbs are poking out which is a good promising sign.

I'm loving this thread 🩷🌷🌼

@Notyetthere I find lavender grows in pure gravel and seeds in cracks in paving so I wouldn't enrich soil unless you wanted to grow other things?

Ok, thank you for the tip. Not too much enriching but definitely will need to improve drainage. My understanding lavender doesnt like wet feet for long. The clay does hold a lot of water so I am think maybe raise those edging beds a bit so that the rain water flows away from the roots instead of the roots sitting in water.

Yes, very much missing mine, but for different reasons. Broke my leg badly in the autumn and still not fully healed so I'm stuck indoors. Our garden is too uneven/slippy/sloping to navigate on one one leg with crutches. I'm desperate to see our crocuses (if they're out?).

DH is out there, but he's busy with a chainsaw and extending the veg garden so god knows what I'll find when I get out there!

Me too, so I can emphasise @NoYourNameChanged...your new garden sounds like an exciting project to get your teeth into, though!

We sold our house with half an acre garden we'd created from scratch (apart from huge beech and oak trees) and bought a seaside cottage with a fairly small, paved garden in late 2024 😭

Ours also had secret garden vibes as there was an old stone walled courtyard with gate leading into the main garden, that came as a surprise to many visitors. I absolutely loved that garden and my 60+ David Austin shrub roses, but although the house (400 year old mill) was characterful too, it was in the wrong location for us so we sold and moved home to the - more expensive - south coast. The trade off was the garden.

Hopefully 2026 will be the year we rip up the - annoyingly cemented in - paving and get things growing. Looking out there now, it's all so grey, although we did bring a few large specimens (Gingko tree, cornus kousa, amelanchier) plus a few David Austins etc in pots. Last year, amongst other things, we planted a wisteria, magnolia and hundreds of tulips (and the garden does have an amazing old pebble feature wall which is a great foil for climbers), so I can't wait now for Spring to arrive!

I keep thinking I need to get out there and do a bit of tidying up. But if the weather is dry it's blisteringly cold and unpleasant (and my garden doesn't get much sun at this time of year) and if it's even slightly mild then it's raining. I just want a couple of dry, not-freezing days to do a bit of sweeping up and sorting out!

Yes, raise the edge and your lavender should do really well.
We have had lavender in pots and in the ground for years but it definitely does best in well draining pots and/or soil. Three years ago I built a low soil bank alongside our front path and planted new lavender, it has done really well and definitely more healthy than our previous plants.

My other project this year is to make a bespoke bee hotel using some beautiful oak sleepers I checked out today.

I've had a good potter making the most of the lawn not being too swampy and it actually being reasonable daylight. I've mainly been pruning roses and the apple tree ready for the first compost bin collection of the year. Exciting times

The first snowdrops are emerging and the primroses and cyclamen are giving some much needed colour. I also have a shrub with fragrant pink flowers just getting ready for action.

I'm looking forwards to the return of post-work pottering.

YES! This is what I need currently, to get across my lawn to my Greenhouse

Me trying to get to my greenhouse 🌊

DH and I have been gardening 3 times since the start of January but its tricky to find enough daylight, dry weather and warm enough. Just been out there for 3 hours today it was dry and 7C which is manageable if you keep moving.

We have cleared the leaves from pretty much all the garden and are putting 3 garden paths down and taking up existing one which has too big gaps between the stones. We have completed path 1 today. Also been cleaning things like outside of the shed, the chicken's cottage, their shelters and plant pots. Did RSPB birdwatch today whilst out - our regular robin came as usual and quite a few other birds. Getting more stepping stones tomorrow.

I forgot I posted this!
I’ve been planning the lawn renovation, I absolutely love making it look like a carpet. I’m more of a manicured garden type, so the ‘mess’ out there currently is upsetting me but on the positive I planted lots of evergreen plants last year so it looks like it has more life than previously. There are some bulbs starting to show, I’m looking forward to some colour. I will also wait for a dry weekend to get out and prune my David Austin roses, and swap two of them over location wise to allow for Gertrude to throw her crazy canes out in style. It’s my little sanctuary out there in warmer months and my poor mental health is missing it