The winter weather may not yet be quite behind us but now is the time to get your hands dirty and to start thinking about your spring garden.
Bulbs are already beginning to erupt, and we are just starting to see the first signs of blossom on the trees, but there is work to be done before our gardens really come into their own.
- Clean, tidy and prepare
It may be our least favourite job, but now is the time to step out of the home and into the garden to start washing flowerpots, containers and other gardening equipment under the hose or in a bucket of warm water. Even if you just have a small courtyard garden or balcony, now is the time to prepare. Tidy up the greenhouse or the garden shed if you have one –– even carry out renovation work on these if required. Gather together garden tools and get everything ready for use over the coming weeks.
- Repair and service
Many people have a lawnmower – others may well have other electrical gardening equipment too: hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, strimmers, scarifiers, maybe even a chainsaw. Now is the time to uncover these, dust them off and check they are working properly. If not, you might wish to consider getting them serviced or repaired.
- Look after your lawn
It’s still too early to start any serious mowing but you could clear your lawn of debris, perhaps give it a treatment if required and certainly consider starting to aerate it if the weather is not frosty.
- Trim and prune
February is a great month for cutting back and pruning dormant plants or any shrubs and trees that are looking overgrown. Trim them now to encourage good growth later in the year.
- Prepare your beds
Weed your beds, clear any stones, rake over the soil and start thinking about what you plan to plant when the weather warms up a bit. You could consider starting to add fertiliser and maybe even some mulch too.
- Chit your potatoes
Anyone seeking a delicious crop of new potatoes may wish to consider chitting. This encourages seed potatoes to sprout shoots. Place your seed potatoes on trays in a cold yet not too cold location. Hopefully they will produce a few shoots ready for planting in the spring.
- Fix and paint
Now is also the perfect time to deal with broken fences, gates and garden walls. Considering extending or replacing these if necessary. Dig out your tools, buy any surface treatments required and head outside with your paint brush and pot. Ensuring fences and walls look their best now means you will have the perfect backdrop for your spring and summer garden when it bursts into colour.
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