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Getting through the winter months sane

BijdezeeBijdezee Posts: 1,484
edited January 2019 in The potting shed
There's not enough to keep me going garden wise in the winter. A few jobs, tidying up, some pruning etc, but I need gardening input. So for Xmas I received the book RHS Botany for gardeners and a secondhand copy of Beth Chatto's The Damp Garden in excellent condition.

So, now I'm on the sofa enjoying these two gems and thinking about spring. 

What do you do to keep sane over the dark days of winter? 

Bottom picture is an illustration from The Damp Garden, not my garden lol, wish it was! 

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Posts

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I head for the sun and lie toasting for 6 weeks in The Gambia. 32C today
    Devon.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet Posts: 27,445
    I have more than enough garden to keep me going. But if I hadn't I'd probably volunteer somewhere that had more garden


    In the sticks near Peterborough
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    seed catalogues
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • RubytooRubytoo Posts: 1,630
    edited January 2019
    The top botany book cover is pretty.
    Winter, basket weaving, they let me out next month....
    But :wink:


  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    No rest for me, I have more than enough overgrown land to clear than there are hours in the day! Just finished extending a raised soft fruit bed to plant out a redcurrant bush and now contemplating making a frame for netting it, still digging over the vegetable garden to keep on top of the bindweed. I need to be putting in my veg seed order, I’m still amending my ever-growing list of new perennials to order, thinking I might need to start watering again if this extended dry spell continues, so it goes on...

    That looks a lovely RHS book, happy reading!


    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • Guernsey Donkey2Guernsey Donkey2 Posts: 6,713
    edited January 2019
    Gardening work has dropped to an hour or so at this time of year, so we spend time making jigsaws, word games, Spring cleaning (indoors), feeding the birds and catching up with letter writing, phone calls to friends and relatives, reading and basically chilling out. No time to be bored here. This shed reminds me of my father's shed, only it was full of old farm implements, bicycles as well as most of the tools in this picture.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    I read over my old garden diaries to remember past plans, successes and failures in order to plan for the coming year.  I too, have a big enough garden (for me) to keep busy whenever the weather's good enough. It's when it rains for weeks or is too cold o garden, that I get twitchy, then I also re-read my gardening books (3 shelves full!) to while away the time. I'm not keen on seed-sowing (never had much success and don't have the room) so that's not an option for me. 
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • BijdezeeBijdezee Posts: 1,484
    I would love to have more space to work with but as I have fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis I have to be realistic and accept my limitations. My mind needs keeping busy though. I just started some embroidery. 

    The basket weaving sounds good Rubytoo. The jigsaw is a lovely picture too Guernsey. 

  • Singing GardenerSinging Gardener Posts: 1,237
    I have plenty of things to do in the garden but am not keen enough to be out there when it's raining or dark so try to find other winter pursuits. At present I'm trying to learn Korean. It's not going well :/ 
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I go through all my seed packets, trying to be firm with myself about a. What to sow and b. How many. A few weeks later l do the same thing again trying to get the numbers down - it doesn't always work though. Another thing that keeps me going is checking the sunrise/sunset times every now and again and seeing the days draw out.
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