Good riddance to January, that’s what we say. A mostly gloomy, soggy, grey, damp month this year with few occasions to gloat about the winter sun being warm enough to have lunch outside. There have been some nice days for bracing walks but otherwise it’s definitely been a time for enjoying the wood burning stove and appreciating whoever invented the electric blanket.

The hens, having been given access to a lovely grassy plot have turned that into a mud bath already. But the laying has picked up (although I don’t think a day has ever gone by without at least one egg in the nest box) and they seem cheerful enough despite all being various shades of brown now.

The wild birds all seem very lively too, the garden is alive with singing and chirping and fighting over the bird seed feeders. A constant tapping noise outside the house intrigued us: a great spotted woodpecker was in the walnut tree. There’s often one in the huge walnut tree at the end of the garden but nice to have one nearer too.

The original veg patch is slowly disappearing. Richard has spent a long time lifting up all the old roof tiles that had been used to edge the beds (and which provided perfect tunnels for the voles to scamper up and down). His reward: a glass of one of his homemade ales.

Last weekend was the first time it was warm enough to get on top of all the January jobs ie pruning. So the plane tree has been pollarded, the vines pruned, some hedges clipped, the gooseberries thinned and the raspberries cut back too. The plane tree branches grew almost 3m in one year but Jussi was not so impressed.

Just the willow needs to be tackled now. Time also was found for mulching many of the beds, plus a load of mulch spread on the bed earmarked for the sweetcorn. The sweetcorn have always done well, the first year I planted them I was a tad disappointed that each plant gave only one or two cobs but they are always delicious. One thing I have never been able to do is stagger crops so everything is ready at the same time but a few weeks of eating sweetcorn most suppers is fine, and actually they freeze well and finding a packet at the bottom of the freezer is a nice surprise.

Which brings me to the coveted Plant of the Year award for 2019. Would it be the sweetcorn? Tempted. But in fact I’ve gone for something more prosaic: the broad bean. Planted in the depth of winter they survive the frosts and wind. This lot were photographed 6 and 31 January. Only two failed to germinate. (The raised beds are a marvel, so much easier to use than the original beds. Can’t believe it was a year ago Richard made them).

They’re ready May, and again stacks of long pods suddenly appear and it’s beans with everything. But we like them a lot, they’re reliable (the hens get the tops with the black fly) and with their lovely, scented flowers are great for the bees too. They’re also great great nitrogen fixers so whatever goes in next, brassicas are best, benefits from that. Well done, the broad beans.