Well, that really was January, wasn’t it? I hope you survived it relatively intact. Most of my rather gentle new year’s resolutions were either broken within a week or have not yet begun (I vowed to work my way through Rachel Roddy’s An A-Z of Pasta and become a kind of carb champ in the process). But one of them – spend more time in the garden – actually kind of came off. It’s still light at 5pm now, new shoots are appearing and I’m starting to think about the horticultural year ahead.
If you’re not quite there yet, it’s a good time for some instant gratification. This is rare in gardening, a pursuit that largely hones patience and delights in anticipation: we sow things three months before they flower, we plant bulbs six months before they bloom, and we put skinny little saplings in the ground knowing decades will pass before they really take up space. But paint? Paint can transform your garden in a weekend.
Whichever grand horticultural marketing committee decides these things tends to push outdoor paint in late spring and midsummer, when the days are long and warm. But unless your garden is a borderless square of lawn, it’ll be the worst time to get to its boundaries – plants will be in full flush, fat with foliage and flower.
Now is better, because aside from a few ambitious bulbs, there’s not much you can harm by walking on the beds, and deciduous trees and shrubs will be bare. If you have a couple of planks or floorboards lying around, putting one of these down on flowerbeds to spread your weight will help. If you don’t have – or can’t face painting – a fence or wall, your future self will thank you for sprucing up your garden furniture or planters in good time.
Twixmas is usually my favourite time for these kinds of jobs: those strange, empty days when there’s little to do. They get you outside and doing at a time of year when everything feels stollen-y. But it rained solidly at the end of last year, which made painting difficult.
As for colour, I’m a huge fan of going as dark as possible. Nearly everything that can be painted in my garden has been painted the inkiest black on the shelf – the studio, the arbour, the fences, the shed. But the back wall of the house is a raspberry-sorbet pink. These are the two colours that green looks best against. Even on the garden’s saddest days, the interplay of black and green works.
But go for whatever makes you happy: if it looks cheery in winter, it will look fantastic in summer. Eco-friendly paints cost more but weigh less on your conscience: there are increasing numbers available, among them Graphenstone, Little Knights and Earthborn.
