Mzzz B"s February Garden Blog

Snowdrops, yellow aconites, cyclamen coum, crocuses, and petite iris reticulata are the stars of the garden currently.

They all bring a dash of freshness and colour, and a sign that the season is changing.
Snowdrops are very easy to propagate, as long as you do this when they are 'in the green' -this is before they have died down. You can even split them when the flowers are just fading. Dig up clumps and split them into groups of about 5 bulbs which you can plant in the same new hole. In a few years if you keep doing this you may get a carpet of them! They are very useful as an early food source for insects and bees. Pick a few snowdrops and bring them indoors and enjoy their very nice scent, and watch them open up, like little helicopters!

Jobs to do in February

• Start tidying up the borders that you have left for the wildlife- cut back the old stems , weed , and mulch.
• Sow sweet peas in a cold frame or cold greenhouse, but beware mice they seem rampant here currently, cover the tops of pots with mesh or a lid of some sort to protect them, or use holly leaves, they dont like the prickles!
• The lawn will benefit from an edge cut , which will make the garden feel much tidier.
• Cut back perennial grasses in borders before they spring into growth. They dislike being cut back until this time.
• Finish pruning roses, and fruit trees.
• Large late flowered clematis should be cut back to 15-30 cms now. Make sure you do not prune early flowering clematis like montanas as they will not flower. These need tidying up after flowering. The system for pruning clematis is to remember only prune if it flowers after June !
• Plan your veg garden – remember to try and rotate veg to decrease the spread of pests and disease. The formula is potatoes, followed by onions and roots, beans and peas then brassicas. Courgettes, cucumbers and pumpkin can be grown wherever you have room as they are not so prone to disease.
• Chit potatoes -place in cool light place for small shoots to develop prior to planting out in March or April.
• Sow hardy veg like lettuce,, spinach, spring onions and onions where they can get some heat to germinate. Broad beans will also get a good start if sown in a greenhouse or frame to plant out when big enough. Also use old pea seed to grow pea shoots- a tip I will be trying this year!

WeLoveTattenhall