If you’re like me and can’t wait for the seasons to change, you’ll certainly be counting the days down until the first day of spring, officially Sunday 20th March. But before spring is sprung there’s plenty of things to be getting on with in the garden especially as the evenings are drawing a little longer and the sun starts heating up.
If you don’t know where to start here’s a little round up of things you can do plus we have some great new apps to share with you that we think even for those of you who don’t like new technology will find pretty amazing!
Pruning
Pruning can be a rewarding task but can also cause all kind headaches! Take for example clematis. There are many different varieties which are grouped according to how and when you prune them. If you have like me a variety of inherited clematis in your garden you may find the BBC gardening pages very useful. If you can’t identify which species you have there are some brilliant apps now available that you can download that are very useful such as FlowerChecker or Leafsnap. But if pruning to you means chopping trees down or creating more light in your garden by lopping off a few branches, it may be better to get the professionals in like About Trees who can offer you advice about what to do and when to do it. It’s certainly better to be safe than sorry!
Lift and Divide
When your snowdrops are ‘in the green’ you can lift and divide them with extra care. For maximum increase of plants, lift and divide them every three to four years. Even though moving them when they are in the green is a successful way to split them, you can also wait for the leaves to yellow in say April or May or even until they are dormant in June or July.
Rhubarb
If you are growing rhubarb now is the time to start forcing it for an early crop. Forcing means you cover the rhubarb crowns with a pot so they are left to grow in the dark. It’s always a strange sight to see a barren garden with strange pots and boxes upturned in the vegetable patch! If you are establishing your rhubarb patch start buying and planting your new crowns now.
Fruit
Autumn Raspberry canes now need to be cut down. Make sure you cut them right back to ground level to stimulate new canes but if you have the summer variety cut the tips that have grown beyond the top of their supports and make sure you cut just above a bud.
Wildlife
If you are an early riser you will no doubt have started to hear the increase in the early morning birdsong. Males are starting to mark out their territories as the nesting and mating season draws nearer. Even though we are not far from spring, now is the perfect time to keep up feeding your garden birds or indeed to start feeding them. There is always the threat of a harsh frost or even snow during February which can make food hard to find.