Jobs for the month
The slightly longer days and glimpses of warm sunshine in February give me all the motivation I need to do some gardening on a weekend. There are plenty of jobs to be doing this month as we gear up for Spring which is just around the corner and in anticipation of a summer to come.
There are many quick, simple jobs that can be done right now such as general tidying, pruning and weeding. However you can also sow tomato and wildflower seeds and create stunning containers with spring bedding.
My top jobs for February are:
Sow your tomato seeds - I love fresh, homegrown tomatoes. Start off your seeds indoors, you can use a heated propagator to speed things up a little if you like.
Feeding time - Give shrubs and roses a good feed with some general purpose fertiliser. Shrubs in containers will need to be regular feed between late February and the end of summer.
Weeding - Tidy up those beds and borders by hand weeding. This is a great quick task and also a mindful one that can help connect you with the natural world around you.
Create a bee hotel - Attracting bees into your garden is not only good for the ecosystem but good for your overall well being too as you see your garden enjoyed by a variety of wildlife. To create a simple bee hotel, gather several hollow canes together and stuff them inside an old plant pot. Turn the pot on its side to allow rainwater to run out and place it in a sunny position.
Cut back ornamental grasses - Deciduous grasses will need cutting back to the base around now, so they look their best. Evergreens will just require a quick tidy-up, removing the dead material from around them.
Sow wildflowers - I really enjoy naturalistic patches of wildflowers around my garden. Wildflowers are really easy to grow, provide long lasting colour and are a vital food source for pollinators. If it's mild weather you can start sowing in late February.
Repair or re-turf lawns - Tired, worn or damaged patches of lawn can be repaired now by either sowing seed or digging turf up from another area. Remember, lawn seed takes a while to get established and make sure you cover it in the early days to stop the birds eating it all.
Create a spring container - This is a great weekend project. You can create a really attractive spring container by filling up your favourite pot with some multi purpose compost and adding some hardy spring bedding, such as primroses, wallflowers and forget-me-nots.
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