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February in the garden

It may still be cold outside, but there’s plenty of jobs you can be doing in your garden. Grab a cuppa and have a read through these February garden jobs.

Here’s a summary, but scroll down if you want more information on any of these jobs!

In the Vegetable Plot

  • Prepare your seed beds
  • Mulch perennial veg
  • Organise your seeds
  • Sow some seeds
  • Start chitting earlies

In the Flower Bed

  • Tackle perennial weeds
  • Cut back ornamental grasses
  • Dead head winter pansies
  • Prune winter flowers
  • Sow half-hardy annuals

Around the Garden

  • Keep feeding the birds
  • Prune summer flowering clematis

In the vegetable plot

Prepare your seed beds

As long as the soil isn’t frozen you can start to prepare your seed beds. Dig over the soil with a fork and remove any weeds, and then dig through a generous amount of compost. Use sheets of plastic, fleece or cloches to help keep the soil drier and to warm it up ready for planting in the spring.

Mulch perennial veg

If you have any perennial veg, such as rhubarb or asparagus, now’s the time to mulch them with garden compost or well-rotted manure.

Organise your seeds

Organise your seeds. Get yourself a box with dividers and organise your seeds by sowing month, it’s a small thing that can make a big difference when sowing season is in full swing!

Sow some seeds

Some seeds can be planted now,  sow broad beans and start peas off in guttering.

Start chitting earlies

Start chitting your earlies! Stand potatoes on end in an egg box and put them somewhere bright, cool, frost-free.

Ask about ground cover

In the flower beds

Tackle perennial weeds

Tackle perennial weeds (dandelions, brambles) by digging them up from the root.

Cut back ornamental grasses

Cut back ornamental grasses to within a few centimeters of the ground before new shoots appear.

Dead head winter pansies

Remove flowers which have gone over from winter pansies. This will stop them setting seed as well as encouraging new flowers when the weather gets a bit warmer.

Prune winter flowers

Prune winter flowering plants to encourage new growth and to prevent ones such as heather from getting too leggy. Cut back winter flowering shrubs once their colourful display is over. If you need any advice on pruning, pop in and speak to our plant experts.

Sow half-hardy annuals

Now is also the time you can sow half-hard annuals. Some, such as begonias, need a long growing season, whilst others, such as zinnias, nasturtiums and cosmos can be left as late as April and May

Ask for pruning advice

Around the garden

Prune summer flowering Clematis

Towards the end of the month, prune summer flowering clematis, before it starts to produce new growth. Now is also the time to prune wisteria, cutting back any side shoots you don’t want to 2-3 buds.

Pop in for secateurs

For the wildlife…

Keep feeding the birds

Keep feeding the birds! Hang fat balls and keep feeders topped up. If you have deciduous hedges, trim them now before the birds start to nest.

Bird baths

Check bird baths and ponds to make sure they haven’t frozen over – float a tennis or ping pong ball on the surface to prevent this.

Ground feeders

Birds like blackbirds and starlings are ground feeders, so scatters food on the floor around your bird table is a good idea.

Pop in for bird seed

What To Plant In February

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