February is the time of year for tidying up and preparing for summer, but also to do some early planting and get some colour into your garden. There are straggly seed heads to remove, still a few loose leaves blowing around to clear away, and you could dig in some compost where you plan to plant.
Bedding Plants
A good way to add colour to your garden now is with bedding plants, and there are a number of flowers that will thrive at this time of year including Irish grown violas, pansies and primulas/primroses. They will instantly brighten up your garden in beds or pots.
Perennials
Bedding plants typically last a few months and then die back, so if you want to plant something more permanent then think about planting perennials, they last for a number of years and will flower every year at the same time. Put them together in groups of say five or six so they really stick out. Some of the perennials to plant now would be Irish grown hardy geraniums/Cranesbill, Japanese anemones, lupins and acanthus, that will all flower later in the year. In shrubs, camellias look fantastic in February, and their glossy foliage makes them look good all year round.
Seeds
If you’re struggling to find plants to buy, you might try ordering seeds and seed trays online from Irish sites and have a go at producing some seedlings on your windowsill. It would be a great project to do with kids, and it’s really not that hard. A few of the flowers you could try to include cosmos, salvias, sweet peas, lobelias and dahlias.
Fruit and vegetables
February is a good time to prune apples and pears if you haven’t done that yet. It’s also a great time to get in early and plant some tomatoes and peppers seeds indoors. Neither of them can handle any frost, so they will only be planted outside in May, but starting with a good strong plant will give you a really good crop – again, look on Irish sites for seeds and seed trays.
Your monthly gardening checklists
Flowers:
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Cut down deciduous ornamental grasses left standing over winter, before fresh shoots appear
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Prune late-summer flowering clematis, cutting stems back to healthy buds about 30cm from the base
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Divide congested clumps of herbaceous perennials and grasses to make vigorous new plants for free
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Transplant deciduous shrubs growing in the wrong place, while they are dormant
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Pot up containers with hardy spring bedding, such as primroses, wallflowers and forget-me-nots
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Prune winter-blooming shrubs such as mahonia, winter jasmine and heathers, once they've finished flowering
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Cut back wisteria side shoots to three buds from the base, to encourage abundant flowers in spring
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Give winter heathers a light trim after flowering, removing shoot tips but not cutting back into old wood
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Prune buddleja and elder to the base to keep these vigorous shrubs to a reasonable size
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Trim back ivy, Virginia creeper and other climbers if they have outgrown their space, before birds start nesting
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Cut away all the old foliage from epimediums with shears, before the spring flowers start to develop
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Sprinkle slow-release fertiliser around the base of roses and other flowering shrubs
Fruit and veg
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Prepare veg beds for sowing by weeding thoroughly, then cover with a thick layer of garden compost
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Feed fruit trees and bushes by sprinkling sulphate of potash fertiliser around the base to encourage fruiting
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Sow mustard and cress in a small seed tray on a warm windowsill for pickings in just a few weeks
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Put cloches or fleece over strawberry plants to start them into growth and encourage an early crop
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Hunt out overwintering snails huddled in empty pots and hidden corners, to reduce populations
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Plant rhubarb into enriched soil, or lift and divide established clumps
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Check if old seed packets are worth keeping by sowing a few seeds on damp kitchen paper, to see if they germinate
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Protect the blossom of outdoor peaches, nectarines and apricots with fleece, if frost is forecast
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Plant bare-root fruit bushes, trees and canes, as long as the ground isn't frozen
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Inspect Mediterranean herbs for metallic green rosemary beetles if they start to look nibbled and tatty
Garden maintenance
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Install a nest box with a camera, so you can watch birds raising their broods in spring
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If snow falls, knock it off evergreen shrubs, hedges and conifers to prevent branches snapping under the weight
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Make or buy a cold frame to use when hardening off young plants in spring
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Check fleece or other insulation is still in place around pots and borderline-tender plants
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Firm back down any plants that have been lifted by frost or loosened by wind-rock
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Improve the soil by spreading garden compost or well-rotted manure over beds and forking it
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Sort out and clean up canes, plant supports and cloches, ready for use in spring
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Prune hybrid tea and floribunda roses, before growth restarts
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Clear away old plant debris from pond margins and scoop out any leaves that have fallen into the water
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Clean and service mowers and garden power tools, so they're in good order for spring
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Spread a layer of well-rotted manure around roses and shrubs
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Remove pond netting installed in autumn to catch falling leaves