FEBRUARY FLOWERS

FEBRUARY FLOWERS

There is always some kind of flower to be found in the garden in every month of the year even throughout winter. When it is cold, sunless and wet the winter flowers just lie dormant, but as soon as we get a couple of sunny days they take their chance and out comes the flowers. Yellow flowered jasmine carries on like that from late autumn till the end of winter. This is also the time for winter flowering viburnums, mahonias, some daphnes, chimonanthus and hammamelis.

However it is the early flowering bulbs, such as snowdrops and aconites that give us the biggest mass displays of colour, and the hellebores at this time of year are also many people’s favourites. All of these plants are very winter hardy and are often seen rising into flower above a carpet of snow. They signal the end to winter weather with the promise that spring is not too far away. It is always a good idea to plan the garden design so that these early flowers can be seen from the comfort of a warm room.

Snowdrops

Every garden, no matter how small should have a drift of snowdrops. They are very easy to grow, multiply quickly and very accommodating as they are quite happy to grow under large deciduous shrubs. They enjoy a deciduous woodland setting with dappled sunlight or shade and if the soil dries out in summer it will help to ripen off the dormant bulbs. They will spread by seed scattered by birds but also by dividing up mature clumps and replanting them while still growing but just after flowering, so we don’t spoil the display. Snowdrops are perennials, so although they die down at the end of spring, they will emerge again every year.

There are many large gardens noted for their Snowdrop Festivals where you can find them in massive drifts. Cambo Estate near Kingsbarns in Fife is always well worth a visit with over 300 different Galanthus species and holding National Collection status.

Winter Aconites

This is the plant to use if you want to establish a golden yellow carpet of flowers in February and March. Winter aconites are known botanically as Eranthis hyemalis. They are very similar to snowdrops in their use and growing conditions, but are better in the sun or dappled sunlight to open up the flowers fully. They spread by seed or dividing up established clumps immediately after flowering. They also like a rich moist woodland soil that is free draining and are quite happy on an alkaline soil. To help establish a good drift collect the seed after flowering before it disperses and just scatter it onto the soil surface and rake it in. The following February it will produce one seed leaf then the following year it will produce a larger mature leaf. It is in its third year before the flowers appear. Be careful when handling this plant and seeds as it is poisonous.

Hellebores

These are also known as the Christmas rose and the Lenten rose and are always very popular. The flowers appear in late winter and spring and come in pinks, mauves, white and spotted colours.

Although the hellebore is a herbaceous perennial, it often remains evergreen, but it is better to remove the older leaves after flowering otherwise the foliage clump can grow too tall and hide the flowers the following year.

Hellebores like a rich moist, but free draining, woodland soil in shade or partial shade with some shelter from strong winds.

They can be propagated by digging up and dividing mature clumps after flowering or in the autumn.

You can also propagate by seed, but germination can be quite slow, so patience is required as you might have to wait more than one year. Home saved seed will not come true to type, but you may well get the next best variety.

Plant of the week

Daphne odora is not a tall shrub, only reaching about three feet after many years, but the flowers produced in late winter to early spring are so scented that you will enjoy and always remember this plant. The scented flowers are pale pink to white with carmine buds. This Daphne is evergreen and prefers a rich moist limey soil in a sheltered woodland garden. It will grow in sun or partial shade, but in Scotland it would be better with a sunny aspect. The plant has a stringy root system that does not transplant easily and hates disturbance, so it can present quite a challenge.

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START SEED SOWING NOW

START SEED SOWING NOW

Winter is not yet finished as we are only in mid February, but every time we get a sunny day there is enough warmth to get some outdoor plants active. Snowdrops and aconites are well out and a very welcome sign that spring is not too far away. Buds on roses always seem to be ready to burst especially my climber on the south facing house wall. It has been underplanted with crocus and the warm wall has brought these out to show the first bit of colour. Later on, after these finish flowering, a naturalised group of Californian poppies take over for the summer months. None of these interfere with the growth of the climbing rose. It was necessary to remove a two foot square paving slab next to the house wall and remove a foot depth of builders rubbish and hardcore, and replace it with some decent topsoil mixed with compost before the climbing rose bush, Dublin Bay could be planted. The roots may only have hardcore, rubble and clay beyond my wee hole, but this climber has thrived. The catalogue says it will grow to seven feet tall, but I have had to keep it pruned to reduce height after it reached twelve feet. In summer it gets covered in a mass of bright red flowers.

Indoor work has begun with the first sowings of tomatoes, sweet peas and broad beans. I start the tomatoes in shallow seed trays, and the sweet peas go in large cellular trays at three per cell, but the broad beans get one cell per seed. Initially they are all kept warm under a table at home, but as soon as germination begins they will be transferred to a sunny windowsill. Both sweet peas and broad beans however are quite tough so they will get hardened off quickly and go into my cold greenhouse.

Tomatoes

Last year the cold wet sunless weather really devastated the tomato crop. Alicante, Sweet Million and Gardeners Delight all suffered badly and many got replaced after rotting off in the growbags. Fellow allotmenteers rallied round with a batch of fresh young plants to replace them, but unfortunately labels had been lost so the varieties were unknown. This was indeed very unfortunate as one plant defied all the odds, put on fantastic growth and cropped brilliantly. The cold wet summer did not bother it. Now as I don’t know which variety it was, and I definitely want to try it again, I allowed the sideshoots to grow in the autumn and took them off as cuttings. I now have four excellent plants in pots which have had the tops removed so they will branch and I will get another batch of cuttings for this summer. It will be interesting to compare how they will perform against the new plants from seed.

Sweet Peas

You can sow the seed in autumn and overwinter them in a cold frame or cold greenhouse. This will give plants for planting out in early March which will then flower very early. Or sow them now for planting out at the end of March.

Sweet peas grow best in well manured soil which has been dug deeply. They can be grown up six foot canes as a cordon with sideshoots and tendrils removed to give large blooms on long stems. The stems are supported with sweet pea rings. Feed regularly for the biggest flowers, and once they reach the top of the canes you will need to remove the sweet pea rings which support them, lower the stems onto the ground and let them grow up the nearest cane again. If you are happy to grow for a colourful wall of colour just allow them to grow up a supported net six foot or more tall.

Broad Beans

Another plant that likes to be well fed so make sure the ground has been composted when digging, and give a generous dose of fertiliser before planting. After germination grow on quite cool as they are quite hardy. I also keep back some seed for a later sowing to give me plants to fill up empty space after spring cabbage or late leeks are finished, or even after my early summer salads grown under low polythene tunnels have been harvested. These give a smaller crop, but still very welcome and the broad bean roots have nitrogen fixing nodules on them which rot down to benefit the next crop.

Plant of the week

Scarlet willow, Salix alba britzensis is at its best in winter after leaf fall to show off its bright orange red stems. I grow two bushes at the back of my coloured stem border in the winter garden. Last year they put on ten feet of growth even though I cut them down to ground level every year. They obviously enjoyed the wet summer. They will be pruned again at the end of March before growth commences and I will reuse the straight stems as garden canes, but remember they are still alive and will want to grow again. They can also be grown as a medium sized tree and are still very attractive in winter. Willows are very useful trees as they contain salicin which is used to make aspirin. Stems are also used to make baskets, living fences, cricket bats and the excellent vigorous growth makes it perfect for harvesting as a biomass fuel. They propagate very easy from hardwood cuttings in winter.

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GROW SOME ONIONS

GROW SOME ONIONS

Everyone who grows vegetables for the home will include some members of the onion family. The range includes bulb onions, exhibition onions, pickling onions, spring onions, chives, shallots, garlic and leeks.

They can be available all year round as fresh during the growing season, with leeks all winter, or stored up till early summer. Small pickling onions can be pickled to keep in jars from one year to the next. Spring onions can be used in salads or lightly cooked in numerous recipes. They have been cultivated for culinary and medicinal uses for centuries originating in Central Asia in India, Egypt, China and surrounding countries.

Studies on the health benefits of the allium family are only just starting but already results indicate they could reach superfood status. They are rich in soluble dietary fibre, the minerals calcium, iron, potassium, chromium, and vitamins A, B6, C and K. Scientists have found about 150 phytonutrients in the onion family many of which are beneficial in treating inflammatory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, arthritis and fibromyalgia. Garlic is also high in selenium and manganese and contains beneficial thiosulfinates which assists cardiovascular health.

Eating onions regularly helps reduce high blood pressure and high cholesterol. To obtain the most benefit do not overcook, as they only need a few minutes to soften on a low heat, especially with garlic. Spring onion, chives and sweet types of bulb onion can be eaten raw.

Soil and growing conditions

They all like free draining rich soil, so prepare the ground in autumn by digging in plenty of organic matter and leaving the surface rough over winter so the frost can break it down to a fine tilth. To get large bulb onions I sow seed in mid to late February indoors in cellular trays and grow on in a glasshouse. Plants are ready to plant out at the end of April. If two or three plants grow in each cell I do not thin them out as root disturbance would harm them, but adjust spacing to allow for singles, doubles and more. Bulbs end up touching each other as they swell, but this is ok. My favourite variety is Hytech as it grows quite large, keeps for ages and the onion is very sweet. If you are growing for exhibition, you are more likely to use the variety Kelsae, or other giant growing type, sow a lot earlier and feed regularly. If you get the exhibiting bug in a serious way your onions will most likely be kept in the greenhouse with artificial heat, artificial illumination, individual pots and staked to keep the foliage upright. Growing from sets is a bit simpler, but the varieties available do not compete with Hytech. Onions from sets are also more prone to bolting and white rot in these wet years. Remove any diseased bulbs as soon as you see them to prevent it spreading.

The best variety for pickling is Paris Silverskins. These can be grown in a two to three inch wide row in very good soil where they will grow thickly and bulb up in a fast but short growing season.

Shallots are grown very similarly as onions from sets, but each bulb will spilt into several smaller bulbs then swell up. They don’t store for as long as bulb onions as their smaller size tends to dry up easier.

Garlic is best grown from bulbs purchased from garden centres or seed merchants specialising in varieties for our soils and climate. Don’t use supermarket bulbs. They need a long growing season so plant the bulbs in late autumn on good soil in an open sunny aspect. Some varieties can be planted in modules and overwintered in a cold frame for spring planting and others planted in early spring outdoors. Plant with the pointed end upwards, spacing at 6 inches apart.

All onions need to ripen up at the end of summer, then get dried off thoroughly before roping or cleaning and netting for storage in a cool airy but frost free shed.

Chives are grown as a perennial herb and cut as required throughout the growing season. They are very easy to grow and quickly multiply.

Spring onions are mostly grown for adding to salads, but can be chopped up for stir frying and used in a similar way to chives. I start my first ones as seed sown in early March indoors in cells then harden off for planting in a prepared bed under a low polythene tunnel. Further sowings are made about every six weeks to give me successional crops from late spring to mid winter.

Leeks are my autumn and winter vegetable sown in a bed in spring then lifted and transplanted into rows when about six inches tall. The transplants get topped and tailed and dropped onto dibble holes six inches deep then watered in to firm up the roots. The first ones are ready in late autumn, but harvesting continues till spring. I find it hard to beat the old, but reliable variety Musselburgh.

Plant of the week

Choisya Sundance is an evergreen shrub growing to about 4 to 6 feet tall. The variety Sundance is the golden leaved form of the Mexican Orange blossom whose bright colour is very welcome in winter. It is winter hardy and will grow on any well drained soil but prefers a sheltered position in full sun. It looks good in courtyards, cottage gardens and I have a specimen in a large tub. The white spring flowers as well as the foliage are slightly scented. Sometimes the tips can suffer a bit of frost damage, but these can be pruned back to healthy wood and will grow again.

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EXTEND THE GROWING SEASON FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

EXTEND THE GROWING SEASON FOR FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Allotment gardeners traditionally always get a glut of some crop that we share with fellow plot holders, family and friends. Some crops such as courgettes, Swedes, cabbages and potatoes, plums and apples can all have a prolific year if the weather is kind. We also tend to grow too much of each crop just in case we get losses. However I am now tending to grow smaller rows and a wider range of fruit and vegetables so I get less surplus and have fresh produce available over a longer period. This idea can be extended further by using the protection of greenhouses, frames and polythene tunnels for bringing on crops earlier and extending the season into the autumn.

It is just about possible to be self sufficient in fruit and vegetables harvested from your own garden provided you accept each crop has its own season. The most difficult period is March and April when the previous years stored crops are just about done and the current year’s crops are still growing. This is when the freezer helps us out as most crops can be frozen and kept in good order for months. The summer and autumn months are the easy ones when there is plenty available and surplus can be stored. Winter is also not too difficult as there is a wide range of winter hardy crops such as Swedes, Sprouts, cabbage, leeks, parsnips, kale, Swiss chard and if you are lucky late sown, (August) summer salads such as spring onion, rocket, sorrel, corn salad and mustard mix can see you in fresh leaves till the end of January as they can tolerate a wee bit of frost. My outdoor beetroot has now finished but onions and pumpkins will stay fresh for a few more months.

Salads and vegetables

Ground prepared well in advance can be covered with low polythene tunnels in mid March to warm up for a few weeks before planting out an early batch of lettuce, spring onions, radish, beetroot and carrots. These are sown in cellular plug trays also in mid march for planting out about four weeks later. The radish are always ready first then lettuce can be picked when quite small as there is usually plenty to grow on a bit bigger. If poly tunnels are not available a cold frame is just as good as long as the soil is well prepared.

Cabbage and cauliflower can also be harvested just about all year round by selecting varieties suited to each season. My spring cabbage can be cut in April and May as spring greens then other plants left to heart up. However these are often overtaken by my early summer cabbage sown in the greenhouse for early planting. Later on we pick the autumn cabbage, then the winter cabbage takes us just about to March, provided clubroot and other pests don’t spoil your plans. Cauliflower can be grown all year round in a similar way, though there is usually a gap in mid winter.

Fruit crops

To grow raspberries and strawberries outside their normal summer season you need to look to the methods of the commercial growers. If you have the room in a glasshouse a couple of pots of an early raspberry variety are a luxury to sample fresh ripe rasps two to three weeks ahead of the early outdoor crops. However extending the season into autumn is normal now with Autumn Bliss and other autumn fruiting rasps. These will fruit till the end of November, but may not be very sweet as they need the warmth of sunshine for best results.

Strawberries can be grown under low polythene tunnels erected at the end of February over a young row planted up the previous autumn. I use the early variety Mae which never lets me down. I also extend the season into autumn with the perpetual variety Flamenco which will continue to fruit till November, but also needs sunshine. Flamenco will fruit from new runners throughout the season.

The summer blueberry season comes in August but saskatoons which are very similar fruit in July so giving almost two months of very healthy fresh black fruits.

The apple season gets extended by grafting early and late varieties onto my one large tree, so the Oslin fruits in August, followed by Discovery in September. Red Falstaff and Red Devil are ready in October but can be stored for a couple of months, then Fiesta, my late variety will store to the end of the year.

Outdoor grapes fruit in September to October in a normal year, but in the greenhouse my Flame starts in August followed by Perlette then Black Hamburg will last till December.

Plant of the week

Wintersweet, Chimonanthus praecox can be a beautiful winter flowering shrub with yellow spicy scented flowers, but it needs a sunny sheltered spot with good soil and drainage. Planted at the base of a south facing wall with plenty of organic matter added to the soil at planting, then given a mulch so it doesn’t dry out just in case we get a dry year. It is deciduous so the flowers emerging in November and lasting in some years till March can be easily seen. This hardy shrub from the mountains of China can grow up to ten foot tall but careful pruning can keep it about six feet if preferred. The main disadvantage for the impatient gardener is that it takes about four or more years to settle down before it starts to flower. This is another reason why propagation is best by layering rather than from seed as the latter could take a very long time to reach maturity for flowering. Leave layered shoots at least two years to grow decent roots before digging up.

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