Most of us have had a mild January and our garden plants are refusing to wait for a period of prolonged frost and snow. Already the snowdrops are appearing and aconites too are heralding the early beginnings of spring. There is still time to get on with the winter jobs though, and time spent in the garden now will pay off big dividends later in the year.
Continue with the winter pruning of shrubs, roses and trees. Wisteria needs to be pruned twice a year to develop a good structure to promote flowering spurs; as the buds start to swell you can see the difference between the vegetative leaf buds and the fatter, slightly blunter flowering buds. When pruning your soft fruit remember red and white currants fruit on older wood but the black currants fruit on last year’s growth. Buddleia and hardy fuschias can benefit from quite a severe pruning now, and will respond with vigorous growth in the spring.
You can still benefit from the dormancy of most plants to finish off those structural jobs like paths and maintenance of walls and fences. Now is also a good time to make and plant a rock garden and also to prepare ground for sowing new lawns in March or April.
Old and dead shrubs can be removed and replaced. Think about servicing your garden machinery before the grass starts to grow and service your tools- shears need sharpening- and the wooden handles of all your tools will benefit from some linseed oil thinned with a little white spirit.
Preparation in the vegetable garden should be well underway. Continue with the deep digging and let the frosts break up the soil. Every year your soil will improve if you add humus – well-rotted leaf mould is a good source- and nitrogen (well rotted farm yard manure is best). But also the vegetable garden will benefit from a top dressing of lime (hydrated lime) which will sweeten the soil. However, don’t put the lime on ground you plan to plant potatoes as this encourages scab. My earlies are chitting nicely now and it won’t be long before I seize a window of opportunity in the weather to put them in. My farmer neighbour once told me to get the potatoes in early and this is good advice. But of course they will need protection from frost. Onions, early leeks, cabbage, peas and lettuce can be sown under cover and broad beans, if not sowed last autumn, can be sown outdoors in light soils when the ground allows.
As growth is soon to begin now is a good time to feed fruit trees that are growing in grass- they get starved of nitrogen. Feed herbaceous plants too, clean and feed the asparagus beds, winter cabbages and sprouting broccoli. Herbs can be cleared around and some, like chives, can be divided.
Divide too herbaceous perennials such as Astilbe, Iris and Hemerocallis. Pelargoniums can be re-potted and Dahlias can now be boxed up. This is the time to be thinking about what you are to be sowing in the greenhouse, and prepare your seed trays and pots. More people are buying plug plants these days, so make sure (if you have ordered some) you have some compost and plenty of pots or trays ready for when they arrive.
Finally, Happy Valentine’s Day! Remember that the birds will soon be thinking of nesting, so now is the time to clean out and put up those nesting boxes. Happy gardening!