by Janis on 30th January 2026 / 0 comments
Welcoming the New Year of 2026
Perhaps a little late, but a happy New Year to you all.
It’s amazing that we are just over a month past the shortest day, and we’re noticing that the evenings are gradually getting lighter. It will only be a matter of weeks before we see the first signs of spring. Although some of our bulbs are already popping up.
But hey, let’s not wish our lives away; let’s delight in the fact that here in the UK, we have distinctive seasons to enjoy throughout the year, particularly in winter, when we can indulge in all the heartwarming foods which are available. Tonight, for us, it’s a hearty Goulash.
Pinterest?
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What we’ve been up to in January
In the garden and on the websiteAs our garden is pretty dormant at the moment, like most gardens in the Northern Hemisphere, we have been relatively quiet on the gardening front, and it has been especially showery these last few weeks.
Defrosting bird bath
But on a more upbeat note, we have already seen plenty of signs that our late-winter and early-spring bulbs are peeping through the compost in our pots and containers.
Late last March, we spotted some Fritillaria Sunset Beauty and Fritillaria Red Sunset on offer at our local garden centre. They were past their best in terms of flowering, but we thought we would take a chance and buy them, ready for Spring flowering in 2026. And lo and behold, a couple of days ago, we spotted them peering through the soil, so fingers crossed in the coming months we will see them in their prime.
Magnolia protecting new shoots
However, once again, our delicate dwarf irises and crocus have done us proud; I can’t believe how pretty they are and uplifting it is uplifting to see them.
A couple of years ago, we planted a mountain of bulbs, which we bought from J. Parker’s. We planted them around the garden, and the preen shoots are showing their faces already.
Have you seen any signs of your bulbs popping up in your garden yet?
Achievements for January
Let’s keep ticking those boxesWe've managed to tick a few jobs off the list for January; however, we would have liked to achieve more.
Frosty Mahonia
Full bird table
So, let’s see what we’ve managed to tick off for January.
Start weeding out the self-seeding Honesty.
Dispose of Christmas trees.
Keep an eye on the patio pots for the spring bulbs.
Top up the bird feeders.
Keep the garden waste bin as full as possible.
Lessons learnt & mistakes made
You live and learnGary and I are not always familiar with identifying new leaves popping through the ground, and we missed the fact that our Honesty had extensively self-seeded. That’s why we love the App PlantNet.
Frosty Honesty
Our plans for the coming month
What’s on your to-do list?Weed the two front garden beds.
Keep an eye on the new winter and spring bulb shoots.
Weed the driveway using a scraper.
Continue clearing weeds and unwanted planting in the Cottage Garden section.
Prune more of the many shrubs in the back garden and check the pruning seasons.
Purchase a new shredder.
Please let us know what you have planned for your garden this month; we’d love to hear about it.
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