ANOTHER New Year in the garden! This will be my 17th year at Brockhole, and it never seems to matter what problems, bad weather or hold-ups we have had in the previous

12 months, the new year is always full of promise and fresh possibilities. This year everything will be perfect (maybe).

At Brockhole, our winter tidying is going well. The holly hedge, always the last to be cut, is losing its raggedy outline in favour of a crisper profile, and many of the borders have been cut down and tidied up. One of the gardeners is cutting the side off the large beech hedge at the bottom of the garden; it had grown so wide over the past few years that it was impossible to reach across the top in some parts. No one really wants a beech hedge with a Mohican hairdo, so we had to make the whole thing thinner and hence more manageable. Beech is usually quite amenable to hard cutting back, as long as it gets plenty of light it will quickly sprout new shoots from the older wood.

I'm quite fascinated, and often a little shocked, by how quickly trees and shrubs expand and grow. Almost without being noticed they manage to fill their allotted space and begin to overshadow smaller plants, blocking views and shading buildings. Last week I spent half a day thinning out the Chilean Bellflower (Crinodendron hookerianum) on the top terrace. It's an unusual tree and I felt guilty to be pruning off several large branches but, over the last three or four years, it had gradually stolen a good five feet of the view of the lake and fells beyond. Beneath its branches, ivy had stealthily grown to cover the wall top completely. It wasn't until I remembered that I used to sit on this wall top to introduce garden walks that I realised how much space was missing.

It's good to have sheep back grazing in the wildflower meadow this winter. We didn't have any last winter, in case of another foot-and-mouth outbreak, but this year we are back to normal, with 20 Texel hoggs borrowed from a farmer at High Wray. There is something very peaceful and satisfying about the sound of their quiet munching and the noise of their feet on frosty grass. With smartly cut hedges and tidy borders in the background, everything is under control for a whileyes I think this will be a good year.

Jobs for this week

Check stored bulbs and corms for frost damage, fungal disease and attacks by rodents.

Check greenhouses and frames for lost, loose or broken glass. Make repairs as soon as possible, strong winds may get in through a small gap and blow out more panes.

Try not to walk on frosty lawns or you will leave a trail of black footprints when the grass unfreezes.

January 2, 2003 15:00