Now that there’s an appreciable difference in the daylight hours, February seems like a month of anticipation.
It’s a lovely time of year to take a moment and wander around a garden admiring the young green shoots as they begin to ready themselves for blooming later in the year. There’s a general feeling in the air that a new gardening season is about to start. As always, there’s plenty to do in the garden to work off those winter blues.
Before the birds start nesting later this month, is the best time of year to clear your garden if it has become overgrown. It’s too easy to just live with what you have, think instead of the potential for what your garden might be like if it were to be cleared.
Set aside some time to start thinking about what you would like to try out this summer. It is satisfying to browse through gardening books whilst the rain is hammering against the window and formulate that plan. If there’s an area of your garden that you’re not happy with, decide on a plan of action this month.
If you want to grow snowdrops in your garden, plant them ‘in-the-green’ within the next month after they have finished flowering, but before the leaves have died down. You can buy them from a garden centre or, better still, if you have a friend with a profusion ask for a clump. They won’t take long to establish themselves if you choose the right spot in your garden.
Snowdrops enjoy a well-drained spot in light shade similar to their natural woodland habitat. If planting bulbs in heavy soil, add a little sharp sand or horticultural grit to the planting to aid drainage
Plant with companions such as under red barked ‘Dogwood Cornus alba ‘Sibirica Variegata’
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