The first signs of spring are visible in the garden, with bulbs such as snowdrops and aconites and shrubs such as winter jasmine, winter–flowering viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense) and mahonia in flower. There are a few first steps you can take to grow your own and it’s the right time to prune summer-flowering shrubs.
Give your garden a splash of colour
There’s nothing like a tub or window box full of winter-flowering plants to brighten up the garden or front door. We’ve got over 30 varieties of growing bulbs, plus a collection of hardy tub & basket plants, plus primrose, pansy & viola bedding packs, and Helleborus ‘Ivory Prince’. Even after a hard frost, the heads of these plants will lift their heads to the sun.
Grow your own: first steps
First and second early varieties of potato can be chitted now. Chitting means getting the ‘eyes’ on the potato tubers to start sprouting. This gives the plant a head start as it’s too soon to plant outdoors yet. Place one potato tuber in each slot of an egg box – so 6 tubers in a half dozen egg box. Place the boxes (without the lid) on a light windowsill in a cool room – it’s better to get the sprouts to grow slowly than to encourage long, spindly growths which will easily snap off at planting time.
Sow seed of indoor vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers and aubergines now – placing two seeds in a shallow depression in a pot of compost then covering with compost. The seeds will need gentle heat to germinate, either in a propagator, the airing cupboard or by a radiator. The seedlings must be brought into the light once they come through the surface of the compost by placing on a bright windowsill. Once they have their first pair of leaves, remove the weaker of the two seedlings.
Towards the end of the month, cover some of the veg plot with black plastic or cloches to help the soil to warm up more quickly and so be ready for growing sooner.
Spring pruning
With some shrubs it’s a case of being cruel to be kind to encourage the best flowers. Several summer-flowering shrubs such as buddleja (Buddleja davidii), plumbago (Ceratostigma), tree hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata), shrubby mallow (Lavatera), pheasant-berry (Leycesteria), Russian sage (Perovskia), hardy fuchsias, and deciduous Ceanothus (Californian lilac) flower on the current year’s growth. By pruning at the beginning of the growing season, the shrubs are stimulated to produce plenty of new growth on which flowers can form. Don’t be tempted to prune spring-flowering shrubs until immediately after flowering or this year’s flowers will be removed. Similarly, slightly tender shrubs such as Mexican Orange blossom (Choisya) are best left until April in case of further frost damage.
Spring review
Take a look around your garden – would you like to see more spring bulbs such as snowdrops, crocus and aconites growing there? Snowdrops and aconites are best planted while they are in leaf (‘in the green’) rather than as dry bulbs in the autumn. After flowering, lift and divide larger clumps or buy pots of growing snowdrops. If planted in well-prepared soil, small clumps will soon produce offsets. Crocus are best planted in late summer, so make a note on your calendar to buy corms in late August/early September.
Looking ahead to summer
It’s not too early to sow sweet peas now. Seeds can be sown under cloches, in a cold frame or in a cool room in the house. Choose tall varieties for growing up high trellis or dwarf varieties for growing up a wigwam of canes in a large pot. Packets of mixed varieties are usually selected for a good colour range and perfume but specialist seed catalogues offer varieties of one colour, with long stems for cut flowers or for perfume. Sow one seed to a sweet pea pot, or use toilet tubes filled with good compost and stood in trays to encourage the seedlings to form long, straight roots.
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