大象传媒

Pretty soon, though, the gardens and lawns will be filled with great drifts of colour as Snowdrops and Crocus cover the dreary ground bringing the garden to life. Daffodils will soon follow and Tulips, as always, will be that bit later, choosing to wait for longer daylight hours and a respite from the biting cold. If you missed planting bulbs in the autumn, then fairly soon, the garden centres will be selling bulbs in pots already in flower and these can be purchased and planted into tubs and troughs or can be planted into the open ground giving lots of fresh spring colour. They can be left in their growing positions once the flowers have faded and will come up year after year if fed and mulched, making flowering bulbs purchased now, great value for money.

Dig over new vegetable patches allowing the weather to break up large clumps of soil. Compost or well rotted manure should be dug in at this stage and some sharp sand added to heavy soils and then left for at least six weeks to break down when you can break up the surface with a garden fork and prepare for seed sowing and planting at the beginning of March.

Split and replant Chives into new pots using either stone or Terra cotta with multipurpose potting compost. Chives, though, can sometimes be tender in hard conditions so give them a little shelter to get them established. Split bulbs can also be planted into the open ground ensuring it is well dug, however, make sure the bulbs are planted at least twice their own depth into the soil and firmed in position.

Cut back climbers like passion Flowers and Plumbago to within a few inches of the old wood. Plumbago should be growing in a cool green house or conservatory as they are not hardy so make sure even at this early part of the year the compost is not too dry and watch out for overwintering pests such as green and white fly. If spotted then spray with a general insecticide or horticultural soft soap.

Happy Gardening