Head chef Simon Haigh with head gardener Chris Holdsworth

When Chris isn’t busy keeping the grounds ship-shape he’s busy in the greenhouse working with head chef Simon Haigh on picking the perfect fruit and veg for the hotel’s menu.

Pruning shears at the ready – here’s what you need to focus on in your garden now. Over to you Chris….

WISTERIA HYSTERIA

It’s the start of pruning season and now is the time to get trimming most of your plants including those summer late flowering shrubs and the likes of apple and pear trees, medlar and blackberry bushes. You can do this by removing a third of the oldest stems. Make sure you don’t get too happy with the snippers though – plants like lavender, buddleia and ornamental grasses shouldn’t be touched until spring.

If you want to have a good flowering wisteria in the spring and summer for that dreamy lilac-flowered garlanded look, you need to shorten the stems to around three buds and tidy old growth, which allows for new growth to emerge.

STAY OFF THE GRASS

Keep off the grass when there’s a frost as footprints can bruise it. This is a weird time of year as you are going to get a couple of really warm days but you can still get snow and frost, so if you can avoid walking on the grass, then do, and you’ll have a lush and green lawn to enjoy come spring and summer.

PREP IS KEY

Anything you haven’t done in the winter you need to do now, like cutting back old foliage to make room for new shoots. It’s also a good time to carry out maintenance of other parts of your garden – It’s what I call ‘my-time’ so I can get on with things like paving repairs, path repairs, bench painting and tool cleaning and oiling. If it’s dry enough you can start digging vegetable beds if it’s not too wet.

GET IN THE GREENHOUSE

If you have got a greenhouse then you can start sowing basil, coriander – the soft herbs – and some of the salad leaves which are quite hardy. I work with Mallory Court’s head chef in the Kitchen Garden and we will be starting off celeriac and things like beetroots, turnips, chilli and kohlrabi so as soon as the weather is better we can get them in the gardens. It’s too cold for them outside at the moment but getting them prepped in the greenhouse or just on a windowsill or heated propagation mat, allows you to be a few steps ahead. It saves loads of time when there’s lots to do in the garden come spring and you get an early crop.

WHAT’S NEXT?

In March you can start the remedial lawn work – applying feed weed, moss killer and mowing the lawn. In flower and veg beds this is the time to remove all the dead leaves to reduce the risk of fungus, and have air circulating around the plant. It’s also a perfect time to start cutting back your roses to make room for new growth.

Want to see Mallory Court’s beautiful gardens and Chris’ handiwork for yourself? Book a stay or dinner here. And if you still need convincing, here’s my review.

Secateurs ready! Gardening tips you need now

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