“Gardening is the the art that uses flowers as paint, and the soil and sky as a canvas” This quote from Elizabeth Murray led me think more about how we can plan our gardens to become areas of inspiration and relaxation as Monet did in his garden pictured here.
Extending the metaphor of a garden as a painting, we can see propagating seeds and small plants as preparing our palette with the ‘paint’ we need to create a perfect picture.
The first two months of the year are an excellent time to plan our garden and garden areas for the coming year. Have a look around for something new you can introduce to your ‘picture’. If you don’t want to grow from seed then it is more economical to buy smaller plants early in the year and bring them on yourself. Maybe you could propogate extra plants to share and swap with fellow gardeners. Seed packets always contain full planting information.
February is the time to prune Wisteria and evergreen hedges and also to cut back any winter flowering shrubs and deciduous grasses that have finished flowering.
Leaves and general debris must never be allowed to accumulate on the surface of your lawn during the winter, as it can smother or weaken the grass, causing it to go yellow. Rake or lift off leaves and recycle in your compost or use as a mulch under hedges to create a haven for wildlife.
There is still the possibility of some very cold weather, so make sure you protect your vulnerable plants, if there is the danger of prolonged frost and waterlogging. At the very least a few sheets of newspaper will offer some protection and raising the pots off the ground to encourage drainage will help. For some shrubs in pots such as olive trees, it is the roots that need protecting and you can use bubble wrap, fleece or straw in a black bag! Also try to put your pots in a sheltered position to avoid the worst of the weather. Finally do not forget that birds and wildlife need a little more support during the cold weather with extra food.
If you have never tried growing potatoes (seed potatoes can be purchased at our Trading Centre or online) this is the best time of year to start this process. Chitting potatoes means sprouting the potato tuber – putting it, most eyes upright, in a light, cool but frost-free place at about 50F (10C). If you have only a few potato tubers, you can line them up in egg cartons or a shallow box, taking care to separate the potatoes and keep them upright. After 4-6 weeks strong, short green shoots should appear about 2-3cms long from the eyes of each tuber. These can then be planted out once the soil has warmed up, anytime from Mid-March. There are many creative ways to grow potatoes if space is limited (deep pots or sacks) and this is certainly something our younger gardeners might enjoy getting involved in. There is nothing tastier than a freshly dug potato!