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Derbyshire Amateur Gardener's Diary - February 2010

Maggie’s Blog – February 2010 We have survived the coldest weather in a long time, and although February can sometimes also be a bitterly cold month, it is lovely to see the snowdrops and daffodils beginning to come to life and the shoots emerging from the soil – making us feel that Spring is not too far away. After all that snow, your gardens, like mine, probably look like, as my father would say, “the wreck of the Hesperus!” Although there is a lot of dead (and soggy) vegetation around I am resisting the urge to be tidy and clear it all away. It will be protecting the new shoots from the worst of the weather, as well as providing a source of food for our hard pressed birds. If, however, shrubs have become damaged with the weight of the snow, it is better to remove any broken branches as long as the wound on the shrub is not too big. I hope you are remembering to feed the birds. If you can, turn over bits of wood and unused pots, the chances are there will be snails lurking underneath them. If crushed and put out, the blackbirds will soon make a meal of them, which will help them survive the winter and also will mean fewer snails to eat your bedding plants later on in the season. You may have plants which seem to have died through the bad winter, but do not give up on anything yet. It is surprising how many seemingly dead plants grow again from the bottom once the weather improves. Although we are still deep in winter, the gardens can still have colour. Winter flowering pansies are always a good standby for a splash of colour, particularly good in pots, as well as the primulas. The dogwood, with it’s red bark, comes into its own now too. It is best kept well pruned to keep it in a compact shape, but it is also the new wood that has the brightest red branches. In the summer months the variated leaves also make an attractive feature. If you are intending to plant vegetable seeds in the ground soon it is a good idea to place cloches or bio-tunnels, such as Planto's Plant Tunnel as shown here, over the soil now. This will have the effect of warming the soil up, which will give the seeds a good start. Potatoes are a crop which can be started now. The seed potatoes need to be “chitted” – placed in a light position indoors in order to sprout, in readiness for being planted out in April. Happy Gardening!