Gardening by Month - February
The evenings are getting lighter and spring is on its way! If the rain has stopped, get a head start in the garden and prepare for spring growth. When the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged, you can establish new shrubs before the drier weather of late spring and summer.
The heather is a lovely addition to the garden, since it’s hardy and colourful in shades of white to purple. Give it good drainage by adding horticultural grit to the compost. Many heathers grow best in acidic soil, so you may need to plant it in generous amounts of ericaceous compost. If you don’t have acidic soil, heathers can be grown in ericaceous soil in pots and containers. Some varieties don’t need this, so check first.
If your garden is lacking colour, plant some containers with winter-flowering heathers, pansies and cyclamen. Heathers are low maintenance, but all plants in containers need to be kept watered in dry spells. Give them a feed in spring and remove older stems. You can also give them a light prune.
Even if you’re not ready to plant anything yet, improve the soil by roughly digging over bare areas and forking in plenty of compost or rotted manure. Your borders are much easier to dig over when the soil is wet, and weeds come out more easily.
Clear out old plants from your pots and refresh them with new potting compost. Using pots for late winter displays means you can position them to appreciate the blooms and foliage from indoors. On colder nights, they’ll have more protection if you bring them close to the house. Ensure your pots have drainage holes to avoid them becoming waterlogged. Remember to keep them watered during dry spells.
Remove dead leaves from shrubs with a pair of sharp secateurs. Prune late-flowering clematis varieties such as vitecella. Other clematis can be cleared of deadwood. Clear away fallen branches, leaves and grass from around your plants to allow them more sunlight and rainwater, especially wherever there’s new growth bursting through. Not only will your garden look better, it will also be in good shape for spring growth.
Your winter bulbs should be providing colour and interest from now. Remove any dead leaves and other debris around them so you can enjoy them at their best. If you haven’t planted any bulbs, you can get ready-planted containers at Garsons. For summer bulb inspiration, pay a visit to the Garden Centre.
Leave out a water source for birds and check that it doesn’t freeze over. Remember to restock feeders and bird tables with nuts, seeds and suet balls.
Until next month happy gardening!
