My garden looks so sad!

[anna]

Well to be honest, it just looks, well, scruffy  

I've been going round chopping off dead bits, which is most of it, but I try not to walk on it too much as it's clay soil.
And the moles have killed 2 shrubs  

Anna

[Garden Manager]

Oh dear, thats not good.  Sounds like it is in need of some winter interest.

There are plenty of things you can do or plants to grow that will look good in winter. Some even look their best in winter (flowers stems etc).  Have a look around se what takes your fancy.

Comiserations on the mole problem by the way.

[Plantsman.]

Something to cheer up the garden  January  through February. Always check  up on cultivation requirements. Also, hardiness according to your gardening temperature zone and individual garden climate.

Trees and shrubs

Camellia sasanqua
Chimonanthus praecox
Erica carnea and darleyensis
Garry elliptica
Jasminum nudiflorum
Lonicera fragrantissima
Lonicera standishii
Viburnun X bodnantense and cvrs
Daphne mezereum
Daphne odora
Lindera benzoin
Lonicera setifera
Mahonia japonica
Hamamelis
Jasminum nudiflorum
Magnolia campbellii
Prunus incisa
Prunus mume
Rhododendron arboreum
Viburnum farreri
Viburnun tinus

   
Perennials  

Eranthis hyemalis
Galanthus    
Crocus

[anna]

Thanks for the ideas - I'll check them out.

One of the dead shrubs was Viburnum x botanese dawn :-(

I do have a Camelia, some bergenia, heuchera etc.

I guess the problem isn't so much the lack of flowers, but just how scruffy it is. I'd love to just take a rake to it, but I'm scared of damaging the crocuses and alliums (which are already coming up) as well as all the roots of my flowers.

This is my first flower garden, by the way - I've only ever really done vegetable gardens and shrubs before.

Anna

[Mrs Ava]

Hiya Anna, I know what you mean about things looking scruffy.  I decided this year to leave a lot of the seed heads on things just to see what they looked like over the winter, some have looked great, some have looked the pits!  Anyhow, I rake up all the leaves and debris off my flower beds using one of those big sprung rakes.  I use it very very gently, and find it really doesn't damage anything at all if done now before the crocus come into bloom.

[Garden Manager]

Something to cheer up the garden  January  through February. Always check  up on cultivation requirements. Also, hardiness according to your gardening temperature zone and individual garden climate.

Trees and shrubs

Camellia sasanqua
Chimonanthus praecox
Erica carnea and darleyensis
Garry elliptica
Jasminum nudiflorum
Lonicera fragrantissima
Lonicera standishii
Viburnun X bodnantense and cvrs
Daphne mezereum
Daphne odora
Lindera benzoin
Lonicera setifera
Mahonia japonica
Hamamelis
Jasminum nudiflorum
Magnolia campbellii
Prunus incisa
Prunus mume
Rhododendron arboreum
Viburnum farreri
Viburnun tinus

   
Perennials  

Eranthis hyemalis
Galanthus    
Crocus

You forgot the coloured stem cornus' and helebores. Always good for the winter garden

For winter garden ideas try this website

http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk/index.html

Great pics plant list etc for a winter garden at Cambridge botanic gardens