Gardening Jobs for February

It may be the shortest month of the year, but February can often surprise us with a wide range of weather conditions. There might be snow and frost one week, followed by a few mild, sunny days, before bitterly cold winds blow in rain and plunging temperatures again. Any work you want to do in the garden has to be guided by the weather.

But even if you can only get outdoors for brief intervals it’s well worth making the effort because some jobs are best done at this time of year. Here are some of them:

· Plant bare-rooted trees, shrubs and hedging plants as soon as possible after receiving them so they don’t dry out. If you are unable to put them straight into what will become their permanent positions give them a temporary home in any spare corner. There’s no need to worry about planting them ‘properly’ with correct spacing or staking. The only important thing is to make sure the bare roots are covered with soil.

· Snowdrops are a welcome sight on grey winter days but they are notoriously difficult to grow from bulbs. They are best planted while ‘in the green’ shortly after flowering so now is the time to buy them in. If snowdrops are already established in your garden you can lift and divide the clumps to spread them further. Do you have some to spare? They’d make a lovely Valentine’s Day gift for someone!

· If you need to prune apple and pear trees this year you must do it soon while they are still dormant. If their buds are beginning to open, you’ll have to leave it until next winter. The aim of pruning is to remove any dead or damaged wood, allow more light and air into the tree, and thin out overcrowded fruiting spurs. By doing the latter, fewer apples or pears will be produced but they will be larger and of better quality than if the tree is left to its own devices.

· Prune summer flowering clematis now to ensure a good display later in the year.

· If you have rhubarb now is the time to force an early crop by covering some of the crowns with lightproof buckets, boxes or specially designed pottery forcing jars.

· Start sowing vegetable seeds if the weather allows. If you are not sure when conditions are right follow nature’s lead and observe what wild plants are doing. If new weeds are sprouting so will the hardier vegetables like early carrots, parsnips and broccoli. Onion sets can also be planted.

· And talking of weeds – the earlier you tackle them, the fewer you’ll have to deal with later.

· If you will need some expert help with a landscaping project this year, such as building new walls, giving your patio a makeover or installing new decking, don’t delay in asking a local professional landscape gardener to visit and give you a free, no obligation consultation. Finalizing your plans now will enable the work to begin as soon as the weather improves and you will have the whole summer to enjoy your new garden.

How to Make the Most of Your Winter Armchair Gardening

The cold, dark days of winter force even the keenest gardeners to retreat indoors, but there are still lots of gardening jobs to be done from the comfort of your fireside. Here are some of them:

Planning
Now is the time to look through seed and plant catalogues and decide what you want to grow next year. The old favourites? Exciting new hybrids? Most people choose some of each. Don’t be seduced by the beautiful photos of perfect specimens. Read the descriptions carefully to check size, flowering season and any special growing requirements to be sure the new plants will fit in and thrive.

Designing
Whether you are looking forward to starting a new garden, or want to improve an existing one, winter is a good time to sit down with paper and pencil – or garden design software – and explore the possibilities of your plot. When foliage has died down, and the leaves are off deciduous trees and shrubs, it’s easier to see the main shapes and lines in your garden.

When you are busy working in the garden you tend to concentrate on the details and forget to stand back and look at the whole. View it from different windows in the house or wrap up warm and look at it from the road. Pretend you are seeing it for the first time. Note which areas are interesting and attractive, and which could do with being altered.

If your new design is going to mean more heavy work than you can manage yourself, or you’re not sure of the best way to put your ideas into practice, ask the advice of a professional landscape gardener who will be happy to visit and give you a free, no obligation consultation.

Start a diary
Begin the New Year with a gardening diary. You can buy a specially designed diary or make your own from an ordinary hardback notebook. Your entries can be as simple or detailed as you like, but recording seed sowing times, when and where you planted different species, which varieties flourished and which were disappointing, will all provide a source of useful information for future years.

Teach yourself
The fascinating – and sometimes frustrating – thing about gardening is that you never stop learning. There are always new plants, tips and techniques to discover. Do you have a pile of gardening magazines that you’ve collected over the past year but haven’t had time to read properly? Settle down now and catch up with what you missed. If you were given a book token for Christmas, treat yourself to a book on a gardening subject that particularly interests you, or visit your local library and borrow a whole armful of books!

However you spend the dreary winter days don’t get too comfy in that armchair. Before you know it, the spring bulbs will be pushing through the snow and it will be time to get back to work!