Work for the week

Crocus has an extraordinary fresh scent for late winter and early spring. To appreciate it, you often have to live closely with the plants.

WIND continues to batter the garden and the earliest daffodils have to steel themselves if their moment of glory is not to be taken from them. When these eventually finish, the keen gardeners should be able to look forward to a number of extra flushes of bloom on the starry, lemon-coloured jasmine, and to the mysterious pale flowers still showing on Chimonanthus fragrans. Later again, there will be the startling hellebores to admire along with the frail candles of the pretentious crocus.

HEAVY RAIN is the enemy of early crocus. It washes out their colour and collapses their slim nectar-bearing chalices. I blush to admit my ignorance, but it is only in recent years that I have discovered how sweetly many crocuses smell. It reminds me of Coolought (Wexford) honey mixed with just a hint of prim-roses; an extraordinary fresh scent for late winter and early spring. The topic of scent for me will always be a constant education. To appreciate it, you often have to live closely with plants. Mine seem to thrive, thankfully, on my most abundant commodity; neglect.

SWEET PEAS; Make a start with sweet peas. Varying in colour from pale brown to black, the seeds are large enough to handle individually for placing in the open ground now, keeping a few inches between each.

BORDER PLANTS; Established herbaceous plants which have not been lifted for division will benefit from mulching and feeding. You can use garden compost, GeeUp horse manure or farmyard muck spread around the plants. If this is not possible use a good general fertiliser. A really good fully organic product sold as ‘Fish, Blood, and Bone Meal’ will be found excellent.

HOUSEPLANTS; Many plants object to tap water. Some dislike the added ingredients of flouride and chlorine, while many more object to extra calcium, which causes furring on kettles and the like, along with complications for plants which will not tolerate lime. If hard water is used on such plants their leaves can quickly turn yellow and show signs of lime-induced chlorosis. They start to look rather pale and sickly instead of having that deep-green healthy shine. Lime haters include indoor azaleas, which are so popular during Advent and Christmas and can be kept for many years provided they are re-potted in spring, watered freely and nurtured by way of feeding on a monthly basis. Many people now own de-humidifiers to reduce condensation in the home and the water these collect is perfect to use on lime-hating house plants. It is almost pure and although not of drinking quality it contains no calcium or other impurities.

ALPINES; Don’t worry too much about your plants growing outdoors. The majority will be fine. Alpines grown in sinks or troughs and are more than happy with cold weather — crisp mountain air is much to their liking. What they detest most of all is continuous rain — the kind that lodges around the leaf base, like catarrh, before setting up fatal rots of the stem. To avoid excessive moisture on most alpines, fit a plastic cloche or sheet of glass over the plants, leaving an air gap of at least 8cm (3in). Special clips for the job are available at garden outlets that specialise in greenhouses and equipment.

DECK MAINTENANCE; Finally, if you have a deck that has not been treated properly, take extra care when walking on it while it is wet or damp.

Untreated decks (including those pressure treated) can attract mildew, algae and other growths especially in persistent damp weather. Do a quick clean up with a 50:50 mix of water and Chloras to kill off all unwanted growths. Do take care though, as the product is extremely strong and the bleach will damage clothing and footwear when splashed about. Use wellington boots, old overalls, and most of all, good eye protection by way of goggles or safety glasses. Chloras is available at most agricultural outlets in the south but the product is sold as Unichlor around Dublin and Sterichlor in Waterford and the south-east.