January always arrives here at Columbine with a sigh of relief. There is an overwhelming sense that however grim and cold the weather might be, things are getting better daily. As I write there are no snowdrops fully open but all experience shows that by the end of the month there will be. Also by the end of the month the first hellebores and pulmonarias will be starting to flower and the yellow hazel catkins catching the late afternoon sun. The days are slowly lengthening and spring is round the corner.
On Twelfth Night I gathered up all the holly, ivy and mistletoe decorating the house and potting shed and took it outside to the bonfire. Next morning a robin was hopping about the prickly pile feeding on the berries. Could be the same robin waiting for me every morning when I come to get the bird food. We store the food in two dustbins just by the door in a shed close to the courtyard. Perhaps he – or she sits there for hours waiting for me but I suspect he has worked out when I come and that I am sure to give him some food from the scoop and that I always leave the door open so he can nip inside and have a quick feed from the uncovered dustbin. I love my sweet robin, gracing me with his attendance every morning and also greeting me is around 20 ducks and Percy the pheasant. Ducks are a permanent feature here at Columbine. I adore their charm as they waddle around the garden or come running to greet me.
I love to grow food – this is my passion and I shall indulge it to the hilt. But this year I would like to grow more cut flowers. We actually grew quite a lot last year – our dahlias doing particularly well. Around early May we always have dozens of seed trays in the greenhouse filled with seedlings and more sitting outside waiting to be planted. We’re talking about making some new cut flower beds near our old orchard and filling the space with cosmos, sweet peas, zinnias, tithonias, nicotianas, poppies, molucella, marigolds and more dahlias to name but a few! I think with careful organisation, we can grow many more cut flowers this year that will flower over a much longer time – this is exciting.
Work on our new footbridge carries on and progress on the oak railings being fitted is going very well. Here’s to a very happy, healthy and productive new year.
Kate Elliott came to Columbine Hall in 1997 when she was sixteen. She is now head gardener but also helps with managing the property generally and in conducting guided tours.