FOR THE LOVE OF GARDENING AND YOUR SPECIAL SOME-BUD-Y BY FAITH LEWIS
Y
ou know how a home cooked meal has that little made-with-love, makes-it-better, something extra? Any gardener will say the same goes for flowers. This year, offer your Valentine a homegrown bouquet with a little je-ne-sais-quoi. Tulips, daffodils, and hyacinth are all February bloomers that make great bouquets. And don’t forget to collect some greenery to add color and texture.
Never made a bouquet before? It’s hard to go wrong with fresh cut flowers, just make sure you cut the stems at an angle and be sure to remove any leaves below the water level. But if you want to take your bouquet to the next level, keep these tips in mind and you’re sure to end up with a bouquet worthy of your Valentine.
FEBRUARY GARDEN CHECKLIST
•Get annual
flowers like cosmos, marigolds, and sweet peas in the ground.
•Keep an eye on
your citrus trees and harvest when the fruit ripens.
•Plant herbs in a
sunny, sheltered area. Resow seeds every few weeks throughout the spring and summer to ensure a constant supply of readyto-harvest leaves once they get up and going.
STEP BY STEP
1. When selecting flowers, have a color scheme in mind. Select blooms with complimentary colors or stick to a monochromatic color palette
2. Choose blooms that are just about to open, rather than those that already fully bloomed so that the bouquet lasts longer.
3. Start with the largest bloom and add the rest of your flowers in successive rings around it to make a symmetrical, round bouquet.
4. Add greenery where needed for height and texture.
START YOUR SEEDS FOR SPRING Don’t let that chill fool you. You can get your veggies started now for splendid spring and summer bounties. While tomatoes are sensitive to cold conditions, seeds can be started inside up to six weeks before the last frost. In San Joaquin County, where the last frost of the season is typically early or mid-March, that means February is the perfect time for your tomato seeds to get their grow on. Peppers and cucumbers like it even warmer, so start your seeds indoors toward the end of the month and move them outside six to eight week later when the sun has had a head start warming the soil. Biodegradable pots offer an easy option for starting seeds since the whole pot can be planted in the ground, just be sure not to start too many seeds in one pot. Plant your seeds with a seed-starting mix (which doesn’t actually contain dirt, but provides the needed nutrients and drainage to get your seedling ready to grow) and keep them in a warm, well-lit place. Keep soil moist, but be careful not to oversaturate them. Unlike our delicate summer favorites, carrots and radishes aren’t bothered by the cold and should be planted directly outside.
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FEBRUARY 2022 | SJMAG.COM
•Keep an eye
out for native California plants like Frikart’s aster, California lilac, and California poppies that will have your yard buzzing with bees, butterflies, and other important pollinators.
•Plant
artichokes.
•Check your
irrigation for any leaks that might have developed over the frosty winter.
