Moving to a new house and garden, as we’re hoping to do in a few weeks, can be an exciting time. With the prospect of a much more space, we’ve been making elaborate plans for a new greenhouse, an orchard, a vegetable plot and a wide variety of shrubs and trees that we currently have no space for in our present garden. But having to leave a garden can be quite a wrench; even if it’s only small you may well have invested a great deal of time, energy and money in it, and many of the plants may be special to you. Once you’ve ticked the box in the fixtures and fittings form that says you’re leaving the garden plants, it seems as if you will have to start collecting all your favourites again from scratch.
Or will you? There are ways and means of both taking plants and leaving them behind. The most obvious way of doing this is to dig up any choice herbaceous plants and split them, replanting half and potting up half to take with you. Unless the plants are very small this is also good horticultural practise, and your purchasers will be getting rejuvenated plants for the price of old. This week I’ve begun the task of splitting up some of our favourites, including a number of ferns, so that we can take pieces of them with us when we move. Early spring is a good time for this task; with previously dormant plants just waking up and launching into growth, my divisions should quickly produce new roots and shoots.
If you can remember where bulbs are planted, you can dig some of these up too; we’ll definitely be lifting a few cyclamen corms and some snowdrop bulbs. Depending on the time of year it may be possible to collect seeds of perennials and annuals, or to take cuttings of shrubby plants and roses. Failing this, no reasonable buyer would be likely to refuse a request to come back to take a few seeds or cuttings at a later date. Since many gardeners have the generous habit of sharing plants, seeds and cuttings with friends and neighbours, you might be able to replace your favourite plants via them, without having to bother your house purchasers.
Of course the longer you have before you leave, the more time you have to prepare. Most trees and shrubs are best left behind when you move house, but if you can’t live without them you could lift and pot them up in advance. Larger trees can be chopped around with a sharp spade some weeks before actually lifting them. This will sever any large roots without disturbing the network of finer roots, giving the tree time to adjust before it has to cope with the shock of being lifted. All you have to do then is work out how to get them in the removals van

In contrast to the dogs, who have been churning up the lawn with games of tag, our four hens have done some sterling work in the garden this winter. I was delighted to find, when I went out yesterday to do some tidying up, that they’ve somehow separated most of the old foliage from my plants, and all I had to do was gently rake it up and take it to the compost heap. There was no need for the usual wrestling with slimy old foliage, the only things I had to cut were the tall, thick stems of phlox and Helenium, which were too thick for the chickens to cope with. No doubt the dry weather has helped with this process. As icing on the cake, my feathered assistants appear to have been eating weed seedlings, snails and slugs eggs, at the same time as providing me with a good supply of eggs of their own. Result!

Sue's hens - the three Graces and Flora

Exciting news – we’ve sold our house and are currently negotiating the purchase of a new house together with three small fields. I feel sure that, if successful, the move will involve the making of a new garden from some of the land involved, thus providing me with writing material for some time to come!

Sow broad beans in trays or small pots in the greenhouse or cold-frame, to give them a head start on outdoor crops, and to deter mice from digging up and eating the beans.

• Prune greenhouse and conservatory climbers such as Plumbago and passion flower. Cut out any weak growths and prune side shoots back by two thirds. Tie all the main shoots firmly to supporting wires or canes.

• Sprout seed potatoes before planting by placing them in trays (eyes uppermost) in a cold greenhouse or frost-proof shed.

• Sharpen the edges of lawns with a half-moon cutter or a sharp spade; this will make clipping the edges less of a chore during the summer.

• Start canna and dahlia tubers into growth, potting them into trays or boxes, and covering them lightly with moist compost.

• If the weather is favourable, plant out sweet pea seedlings sown earlier in the year.

• Check autumn pruned roses for any die-back; finish pruning any roses that haven’t yet been done.

• Cut down plants of flowering dogwood (Cornus alba, Cornus sanguinea and Cornus stolonifera) to within a few inches of the ground. The bright new stems produced this summer will provide valuable colour for the winter months.

• Prune forsythias after they have finished flowering, cutting one third of all stems down to ground level. Do not be tempted to give your plant a number two haircut, it will look awful and won’t flower so well next year!

• Mulch beds and borders with a layer of garden compost, manure or bark to feed plants, cut down on water loss and summer weeding.

• Protect the emerging shoots of tender plants from frosts with horticultural fleece, straw or bracken.

• Sow grass seed from the end of the month onwards, if the ground is dry enough!