February and March can be a poor time for working in the garden. Cold weather, frosts and lots of rain or snow are not a gardeners friend, so it can be difficult for the keen gardener to wait out to better weather.
But the beauty of UK weather is even though it may be snowing one day, a week or two down the road can be a sunny dry day, perfect for preparing your garden for the coming spring, when your garden will reawaken.
Some things you can start on are:
Fertilising
Dig in compost or manure to prepare for new growth and digging over the soil will loosen the ground for growing roots and new plants.
Weeding
Looking carefully you will begin to notice weeds starting to sprout, removing them early will help to prevent them from getting a firm foothold in your garden.
Pruning
Take the opportunity to cut back your plants before they Strat budding. A lot of plants will bloom on new wood and these are ideal to prune at this time. They include Honeysuckle, Hydrangea, Wisteria, Rose, Pyracantha, Buddleia and Lavender.
Prepare new pots
The prefect way to move on from the terrible weather is to look forward to spring, and what better way than to prepare some pots to bring in some early colour. Spring bulbs, crocuses, daffodils and tulips and all bulbs that appear on early spring. Pansies and violas are ideal plants that like the cooler weather and will tolerate frosts when in pots.
Clear out the shed.
It doesn’t matter what the weather is up to, tidying up the shed is a job that always needs doing, clear out the old pots tidy up the shelves and prepare for the summer months to allow room for potting up of new plants.
