Gardening

February in the garden

by Graham Mitchell

At last, we can start thinking about the spring. What a roller coaster of a winter we’ve had. I think most of the garden has got rather confused, but now we can start to plan and even get some seeds in.

An early sowing of sweet peas inside will get them off to a great start, along with echinacea, dianthus and verbena. Vegetables like aubergines, peppers, and chillies require a long growing season, so can also be sown on a warm windowsill or in a heated propagator. At the end of the month sow your tomatoes, again in the warm. If you plant too soon, they will start getting leggy. Think carefully about varieties, perhaps a mix, paying careful attention to their fi nal growing locations. Not all will want to be in the greenhouse, and some may need extensive support.

If you have room for spuds, then time to chit some early potatoes. Egg boxes make great containers for lining up the seed potatoes with “eyes up”. Try some of the more unusual varieties for a change.

On a nice dry day get into the garden for a tidy up, prune any winter fl owering shrubs that have fi nished and tidy up the grasses and ferns. Deciduous grasses need to be cut down to the ground. Winter pansies and

Promise of Spring

violas will need dead heading to extend their fl owering season. Don’t let them start to produce seeds as they will think their job is done and give up. Snowdrop clumps can be split once they fi nish fl owering, preferably whilst they still have leaves. Last year’s great crop of fruit highlighted badly pruned fruit trees. I saw several apple trees completely split with the weight of the fruit. I expect they will recover eventually but will take a few years to get them back into shape.

A good clean of the greenhouse and equipment will help prevent disease. Make sure gutters are cleared and look for any damage. It is an ideal time for running repairs before the spring “crazy season” starts and you are too busy with other jobs.

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February brings the romantic festival of Valentine and, of course, roses. Living roses also make a wonderful gift.

New roses are being bred every year, but here are some of the old favourites:

• Wild roses such as Rosa rugosa and Rosa canina, which can make wonderful informal hedges. • Old Garden rose varieties, which are often over 100 years old, such as the pink, perfumed Rosa chinensis – the China rose. • Hybrid tea roses such as: ‘Compassion’, an apricot pink, scented beauty and ‘Claret’, a red/crimson variety with lovely fragrance. • Floribunda roses have a profusion of smaller fl owers, which appear in delightful clusters. • Patio roses are smaller than the shrub varieties.

The Gold Standard, award winning ‘George Best’ is a wonderful red, fading to pink. ‘Special Friend’ is the palest of pinks with a delicate fragrance. • Ground-cover roses can look wonderful at the front of a border. Rosa ‘Kent’ is a white variety that has large clusters of rain-tolerant blooms.

Rose bushes can be planted in February

• Shrub roses have been bred to be generally fairly disease resistant. An unusual one is the striped

‘Ferdinand Pichard’. • Rambling roses grow beautifully through trees. They generally fl ower just once a year, but it’s a show worth waiting for, particularly the white ‘Rambling

Rector’. • Climbing roses love to grow over pergolas and can usually be trained. Try ‘Gardener’s Glory’, a yellow rose that is a Gold Standard award winner, or

‘Gloriana’, a striking purple rose which fl owers almost all summer long.

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