GETTING READY FOR SPRING! (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

GETTING READY FOR SPRING!

8:22pm Sunday 20th February 2011

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Rain, rain and more rain! What else do we expect of February? But not all days are bad, last Monday I went to Wisley Gardens for the day and the sun was shining. Until the end of this month part of the large glass house is home to a selection of tropical butterflies. They are stunning and it’s a real experience to watch them living amongst the plants that would be growing in their natural habitat. Outside in the gardens the snowdrops were a picture and before too long the daffodils will be taking over with a vivid display of yellow flowers, a sure sign that spring is here at last.

Don’t be lulled into a false sense that because of bad weather there is nothing to be done in the garden. Even on really cold and miserable days good use can be made of whatever time you have to spare. This is likely to be one of the times when a warm, cosy shed is the gardener’s best friend. Look to the future and check that tools are clean and in good working order and get your lawnmower serviced, particularly if it hasn’t been done for some time, so that it’s ready for the hard work yet to come.

We love our winter flowering plants and winter jasmine is a star performer. Not only is it a real delight with its abundance of rich yellow flowers it is fully hardy, even coping with north-facing walls, but for the best results give it some protection from cold winds. As soon as flowering has finished prune it hard and then tie in the new shoots as they grow.

Give your wisteria a winter prune this month. Both summer and winter pruning are needed to encourage the development of flowering spurs along the stems. All sideshoots that were cut back to 15cm last summer should now be shortened to just two buds. Once this is done tie in any other shoots to training wires. All you have to do now is wait to enjoy the flowers.

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