February Decorative Gardening...

The Decorative Gardener's Diary - February in the UK garden

The weather, and the garden too, can seem very bleak during the month of February, in the UK. But surprisingly, February is a month of great activity in the garden. It is the best time to get on with as many seasonal jobs as possible, before the busy months of Spring ahead.

February is the time to:

Prepare:

- Sweet pea trenches if you missed doing so during the Autumn. Simply incorporate well-rotted manure or compost to the soil, ready for open ground sowing at the end of the month

- Fork over herbaceous borders and incorporate well-rotted manure if required

Sow outdoors in open ground:

• Sweet peas (late February)

Sow Indoors or in a heated greenhouse:

• Bedding plant seeds (late February)
• Viola's
• Pansies

Plant:

• Lillies, such as Lilium regale, the Regal Lily

Things to do:


- Cut back old plants of St John's Wort (Hypericum calycimum) to the base

- Prune Buddleia davidii towards the end of the month

- Only cut back the vigorous growths of Hydrangea paniculata now, if large flower heads are required, otherwise do not prune

- Divide Snowdrops when the leaves have turned yellow

- Start Begonia and Gloxinia tubers in the greenhouse

- Start fuchsia's into growth in the greenhouse

- Take cuttings of winter-flowering begonias

- Prune zonal and ivy-leaved pelargoniums, re-pot and water to restart growth