February Gardening Tips

Start sowing vegetable seeds such as leeks, onions and celeriac under cover now.  Broad beans can be sown 5-7.75cm deep, directly in the garden or in pots of multipurpose potting compost.

If you have a heated propagator you can begin sowing tomatoes towards the end of the month.  If not, there is still plenty of time to sow under cover including Brussels sprouts and shallots.

Prepare vegetable seed beds by removing all weeds and forking in plenty of compost. Cover prepared soil with sheets of black plastic to keep it drier and warmer in preparation for spring planting.

If you garden on heavy clay soil but want to make an early start in the garden, build raised beds before the growing season gets under way. The soil will warm up faster and raised beds drain quickly too.

Plant Lilies and Allium bulbs. Plant fragrant winter flowering shrubs to add interest to borders.

Try Daphne, Viburnum x bodnantense, Witch Hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) and Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox).

Prune Winter Flowering Jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) after flowering to encourage new growth for next year’s blooms. Cut back the previous years growth to 5cm from the old wood.

Prune wisteria and campis by cutting back the sideshoots around 2.5-5cm to two or three buds.

Cut back late summer and autumn flowering clematis to 30cm from ground level.

Autumn fruiting raspberries can be pruned, cutting down all the stems to ground level.

Pots of crocus and primrose will help provide food for bumblebees roused early from hibernation.