February's Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

The daylight hours are getting longer and there are a few things you can be doing in the garden right now ...

1. Cut Back  - It's time to do a little bit of tidying up by cutting back a few faded stems! Plants such as Sedums can have their old flowering stems cut back to the base, along with them any ornamental Grasses that have been left standing over the winter months can be cut back before the new shoots appear. You could also divide congested clumps to produce new plants for yourself!

2. Transplant - Now is a good time to transplant any deciduous plants whilst they are dormant. For example if you've planted something in the wrong place or too close to another plant then now is your chance to get that sorted.

3. Late-Summer Flowering Clematis - If you have a late-summer flowering clematis in your garden give it a prune when you get a moment. Cut all stems back to healthy buds about 30cm from the base.

4. Winter Pruning - Keeping on the subject of pruning it's time to finish any winter pruning of your fruit and soft fruit trees by the end of the month.

5. First Early Potatoes - If your planning on growing some first early potatoes this year then it's time get them started! All you need to do is place the tubers into a tray or an egg box in a bright, frost free place to chit.

6. Feed - Give Fruit Trees and Bushes a little boost by sprinkling sulphate of potash around the base which will encourage fruiting.

7. Seed Sowing - You can get Sweet Peas started this month by sowing them into deep pots, 3 seeds to a 9cm pots or even singly in toilet roll inserts. Keep them frost free in a Greenhouse or if you don't have one simply place them on a bright, sunny windowsill. Alternatively if you sowed some back in Autumn then now is the time to pot on and pinch out the seedlings.

Along with these you can some other seeds started such as Antirrhinums and Lobelia, if you have a heated Propagator you could also get your Tomatoes & Chilli's going!

8. Weather - The weather can be pretty varied at this time of year and I've already had a few snowy spells where I live. If you get any heavy snowfall make sure that you knock it off any shrubs, trees and hedges to prevent it causing damage to branches. Wind and Frost can also cause some damage by lifting and loosening plants, make sure that you firm them back in and keep an eye out after any bad spells.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Here's a few things that you can be getting on with today in the garden ...

1. Tidy up  - If you've got some Heucheras in your garden and they are looking a little worse for wear after the recent months then now is the time to give them a little tidy up! Remove any dead or damaged foliage along with any faded flower stems that are still on the plant.

Heucheras aren't the only plants needing a little tidy up, if you've got any Penstemons growing now is the time to cut the old stems down to the fresh shoots at the bottom. The reason we don't do this after flowering is so that the old stems can help protect the shoots from severe frost in bad weather.

Potted Heuchera

2. Veggies - The soil is starting to warm up so if you'd like to get some veggies sown such as Carrots, Beetroot, Salad Crops, Radishes and Spring Onion then now is the time to get started!

3. Extra Plants - If you go into Garden Centres at this time you should see some pots of Sempervivums for sale, quite a few of them will have more than 1 rosette and each of these can give you an extra plant! I found a pack of 6 for £10 earlier in the week and I've managed to get 30 plants from these 6 pots! All you need to do is remove each rosette and pot on into some gritty compost.

 

 

4. Climbing Plants - Climbing plants such as Clematis and Honeysuckle will be putting on new growth quickly and will need tying in to their supports as soon as possible. 

5. Faded Flowers - Deadhead the faded flowers from Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Camellias but be careful not to damage the newly developing leaves. 

6. Weeds - It's one of the least enjoyable jobs for some people but it is one of the most important! Dig out as many weeds possible now and they will be much more controllable throughout the rest of the year. They soon multiply so it's best to get on top of them!

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Well I can't believe we're into November already!
Here are a few things you can be getting on with over the next week.

1. Rhubarb - Tidy up Rhubarb plants by simply pulling away any fallen stems that are below 45degrees, they should come away easily from the base with minimum effort. If preferred you can leave them until they have totally died back. Give them a good feed with a mulch but don't cover the crowns as this may lead to rotting. This is best on plants that are 5 years old or younger. If you have older plants you can dig up the crown and divide into separate plants.

2. Seeds - If you find yourself with a rainy day, we've had them all week! Now is a good time to sort through your seed collection, throw out any seeds that are past the expiry date printed on the reverse of the packet. However I do like to get rid of any seeds that are more than 2/3 years old. If you come across a few that you don't plan on using in the future but are in good condition, why not donate to a fellow gardener or local group?

3. Winter Protection- You can provide some winter protection for insects and hedgehogs in your garden simply by making a little shelter for them. I have used a broken pot laid on it's side in a place that doesn't get disturbed too often. I then filled it with a little soil and fallen leaves. Insects and hedgehogs will find their own way in.

4. Hardy Fuchsias - Protect Hardy Fuchsias planted outside from frosts by piling a thick mulch around the base.

5. Astrantia's - Cut down any dying stems on Astrantia plants down to ground level over the coming weeks.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

General Maintenance ...

Good Morning!

Just another quick post for you all today of yet some more Pricking Out / Potting On that got done over the last week. I thought I would share it with you seeing as I shared these plants from the very start with you all when I sowed the seeds! Since taking these photo's the Didiscus which hadn't germinated in the photographs has finally started making an appearance! 

Zinnia 'Envy'

Calendula 'Sunset Buff'

Tomato 'Golden Sunrise'

Due to the fact that my Autumn sown Sweet Pea's are more than ready to go outside, but can't due to having nowhere to go just yet, I have just re-potted them into larger pots and tied them to stakes using twine to help support them.

TIP - Keep a close eye on your seedlings, I have found quite a few aphids on mine in my GH in the past couple of weeks! The best thing to do is to squish them straight away otherwise they'l have a good munch on your precious plants!

My Dahlia seedlings 'Yankee Doodle Dandy' were also ready to be pricked out and you can see that some are larger than others.

The Tomato seedlings I saved from work were also ready to go into their own individual pots.

Along with the Cornflower seedlings...

Outside I did a bit of sprucing up by cutting down the Penstemons and Phygelius. April is one of the best times to cut these plants down as fingers crossed the chances of a frost are much lower. It is best the keep the stems tall throughout the Winter as it helps to protect the plant.

When pruning cut the plants down to where you can see the fresh new growth appearing at the base.

It's also pretty hard to miss the self sown viola in the 'after' picture!

The other thing I did was remove all the leaves affected with black spot on my Hellebores.

Thanks for stopping by, hopefully this weather will improve soon so I can share some more things with you!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX