The days are getting ever so slightly longer and the birds are beginning to sing. The gardening New Year starts in March and with perfect growing conditions I can almost hear the garden zipping along!
In My Garden
My own little courtyard is beginning to have some colour and I have ventured outside to get the garden ship shape.
Number one was to get some manure spread over the raised borders of clay soil which are still sodden with winter rain and recent snow, and hopefully that will encourage the worms!!
My pots are starting to come to life with the daffodils I planted several years ago. I’ll move the terracotta planters away from the window to make the view more interesting.
Lots of bulbs are bursting through so I’m hoping for tulips before the month is out.
I’m also going to nip to my local garden centre to buy a few more bulbs. Anemones are one of my favourite flowers and I read that some varieties can be planted in spring for a summer show.
I bought a couple of new trees a few years ago to add some spring fever to the raised beds, a creamy white weeping cherry for the side that is my ‘white’ garden room and a weeping willow for the ‘purple/blue’ garden room.
In Your Garden
I wanted to put together a section on monthly gardening jobs. I have to admit I’ve really enjoyed researching this so it could be a regular feature. Apparently this is what we’re meant to be doing:
Have a good old spring clean, weed, clear and dig over the borders and strip perennials of dead leaves and heads.
While you're at it weed your driveway and patio. It's a pain in the bum but will be worth it to set you up for the season ahead.
Feed roses with a special rose food or balance fertiliser and prune into shape.
Plant up your spring tubs and hanging baskets with primroses, pansies and violas, cyclamen or spring heathers.
Prune early-flowering clematis once their flowers have finished and summer-flowering clematis before they start into active growth.
Snip off old stems and dead-head hydrangea before new growth appears.
Watch out for pesky slugs as they're about to make a reappearance.
Later in the month plant out onions, garlic and shallots in your veggie patch.
Now I’m off to plan a foliar drama for my shady ‘green’ garden ready for planting next month….
G ∼♥∼ G