February almost here already and summer as it should be.
February almost here already and summer as it should be.
The first of the seeds I left to fall from spring flowering plants are up, I will wait until perennials are stronger, another week or two and then transplant them into trays to sit in the shade and keep growing ready to plant out at the end of next winter. Have a look around plants that have dropped seed in your garden, I have found nice little seedlings of pansies, viola, marigolds, hellebore's, sweet William, aquilegias, foxglove, and hollyhock to name a few.
Seeded annuals can be planted out as soon as they are big enough ,they should flower over autumn.Heaps of cutting back still going on here, early summer flowering plants like bush lavateras, buddleia, geranium, astrantha and lupins, they will bush up again in no time and refill gaps.I planted out a number of geranium seedlings before Christmas and with this hot summer they have grown into bushy flowering plants ready to fill some of the gaps. If you see any geranium seedlings on offer grab them, they are such great flowering plants for sunny gardens and need little attention.
Remove the seed heads off anything that you do not want to spread, that goes for weeds as well, make sure you whack the seed heads off even if you don't pull them out there and then .
Keep trimming hedges as the soft new growth will have matured now and either compost the trimmings or scatter them around the garden, they will be still soft enough to break down fast at this time of the year.
Hydrangeas are looking lovely right now, very vivid shades this year, probably had something to do with all that rain we received as they were budding up. I have been taking hardwood cuttings of one or two. Select a stem that has flowered and cut at a node just before a new shoot. Push the cuttings into some firm, damp shady ground where they will not be disturbed and place a pot with enlarged drainage holes over the top of them ( to let rain in). Forget about them until they start to shoot in late spring, then pot them up and get them big enough to plant out the following year in early summer.
Roses will need a dressing of manure or blood and bone now as they will be ready for a boost after their first long flowering and keep the dead heading up to encourage flowering.
Peony roses will be making large seed pods which need to be removed so the energy from leaf die back can go into the tuber which means leaving leaves until they have dried back. Planting peonies is best done in Autumn, they prefer a cold over winter and don't like shade, being close to trees and shrubs or being planted too deep. If splitting and shifting it is best to wait until autumn.
lavenders can have a hair cut now before they make seed, the bumblebee type will flower again, same for catnip, Mine has been cut back twice during their flowering season.
Lawns Its grass grub time again, they are most active from February to May. I use a product that can be shaken on and watered /rained in well like powdered fertiliser. The grubs feed on the grass roots and leave dead patches on lawns, once a dead patch is visible they will have moved on to another area of the lawn so concentrate on the unaffected areas
Vegetables: There is a lot of growing time ahead so keep sowing root veg seed and plants. If planted now: carrots (harvest April / may) parsnips (harvest June)board beans (harvest May / July) cabbage sow in seed tray,plant out in 4 weeks (harvest April May ) cauliflower sow in seed tray, plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest May / July) leeks grow in seed tray plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest May / June) lettuce I sow butter crunch now and stagger it right into winter onions grow in seed trays, plant out in 4 to 6 weeks (harvest July - October) silver beet (harvest March / April
Cheers, Linda
