Gardening Jobs for February

February is right on the edge of spring, things are starting to appear in the garden, we already have snowdrops and crocus are now appearing. Our tulips and daffodils are shooting up, its this time of year we look forward to warmer weather and beautiful gardens. As we get lighter days and warmer weather its much more appealing to be heading outside and start pottering around your garden.

Garden Jobs

• It’s a good time to re-pot container plants to rejuvinate them, see my post on Repotting Container Plants to find out how.
• Cut back your herbaceous perennials and deciduous grasses that you left over the winter for winter interest. Best to do this before new growth starts.
• Finish your pruning of rambling and climbing roses, watch out for thorns.
• Renovate deciduous hedges such as Beech, Fagus sylvatica and Hornbeam, Carpinus betulus. If you are going to reduce the height by 50% or more stagger this over two seasons so you tackle one side each year, giving your hedge time to recover.
• If you like me love sweet peas now is a good time to start growing them from seed in greenhouses so you get an early florish of flowers.
• When the weather is better, so not frozen its great for lifting and dividing herbacious perennials. Depending on the plant either dig up the clump and divide with a knife, pull apart or use a spade. I’m not a fan of the knuckle smashing double fork method especially for really tough plants.
• Keep replenshing bird feeders and water dishes.
• Plant new climbers.

Veggie Plot Jobs

• If you are wanting to start your veg growing early then you can start sowing broad beans, leeks, peas, onions and salads but under cover, either in cloches, green houses, or lounge and bedroom window sills.
• Start to sow glasshouse tomatoes ideally at 21 degrees celsius.
• Plant onion and shallot sets and garlic before the end of the month.
• Chit your potatoes sets.
• Apply a fertiliser such as blood, fish and bone to your veggie plots.