february heralds start
January has given us an unusually mild start to the year, so let’s hope February continues on in the same way.
Now that the gloominess of January has past, February is the beginning of the gardening year. It’s time to start preparing for spring and the gardening year ahead of us. It won’t be long until everything erupts from its winter sleep and if we don’t get a head start on it now, then we will be running to keep up!
With the weather having been so mild, we are
noticing that many of our plants have survived that shouldn’t have. While this may seem like good news, it will however mean that many of the weeds and garden pests will have also survived, so it’s best to act now before they swamp us. I always think the best way to approach it is to start as I mean to go on. If I act now and get on top of the weeds and pests then hopefully it won’t become an issue when the spring and summer arrives.
Clearing borders, pots and vegetable beds of weeds enables us to sow our seeds and plant our plugs. It is also a good time to get close to our plants and check for any signs of pests and diseases and deal with it before it becomes a problem.
Trying not to sound too negative about the year ahead, let’s look at getting things going in the greenhouse or on the window ledge, as its a great time to start sowing seeds and kick starting summer bulbs.
Now is the perfect time to sow summer bedding seeds such as pelargoniums, anthirrinums, sweet peas, lobelia and begonias for large, bushy plants to fill our gardens in summer. It can be so much more cost effective to grow them from seed, however you will have to act soon as late spring heat can fry young seedlings. It’s also the perfect time to sow lettuce, summer cabbage, cauliflowers, radishes,
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carrots, spinach, salad onions and turnips undercover, to grow on before planting outside when the weather becomes milder for an early crop.
As long as it’s not cold and frosty, hardy annual seeds can be grown outside directly where you want them to grow, the same can be down with peas and broad bean
seeds.Towards the end of the month dahlia tubers, tomato seeds, peppers and chillies can also be sown in the greenhouse. Don’t forget to chit your potatoes if you want the early bumper crop. Anyway enough of the hard work, here is a look at what’s looking good this month.
Spring flowering bulbs really start to take off from February. They are a clear signal that winter is nearing an end and spring is well and truly on its way. The first to appear out of the ground is the snowdrop. For many, the arrival of the snowdrop (galanthus nivalus) in our garden is the first clear cut signal that the days are getting longer and spring is just
snowdrops herald the arrival of spring around the corner.
They can form dense carpets of white flowers if left undisturbed and are fantastic for naturalizing. The flowers are crisp white and look quite delicate hanging on thin stems, but are remarkably tough. The colder and worse the weather is, the longer the flowers last. In a mild sunny season, the flowers only tend to last a few weeks before going over. To make the most of the flowers it’s better to plant them in a shaded position for them to perfom at their best, however they will grow in most aspects and look great growing in beds, borders, hanging baskets and pots. They grow to approximately 8cm (3”) in height and 15cm (6”) in spread per clump. They will grow in most soils but make they best plants in heavy clay. They best time to buy and plant snowdrops is in the spring when the plants are actively growing, they transplant more successfully this way, whilst autumn bought dry bulbs may take a season or two to settle and establish before flowering.
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Another reliable bulb that heralds the end of winter is the crocus. The crocus is one of the first bulbs to flower that offers a range of bright colours on those dull winter days. They are great for growing through lawns to add colour and cheer to signal the changing of the season. Crocus are great for naturalizing and come back year after year with more vigour. They are perfect for growing in rockeries or at the edge of borders where they can be noticed. They look great if planted in mixed baskets and pots with other later flowering bulbs giving a long season of interest and colour. Plant them in large drifts in beds, borders or under shrubs for a beautiful and dramatic display. The most widely available crocuses grown are snow crocus (crocus chrysanthus) and Dutch crocus (crocus vernus).
Crocus chrysanthus usually flowers two or three weeks earlier than crocus vernus at the beginning of February. The corms of crocus chrysanthus are smaller than that of crocus vernus, so it produces smaller sized flowers. However to make up for this, it produces more flowers per corm. It grows to 8-10cm (3-4”) in
crocus
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