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bulbs, months 01-03: winter, perrennials

Winter Magic

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Life is magic.  Two days after the heavy winter storm, life proves itself.

winter aconite, eranthis in early February garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

And magic begins.

The snow has melted!  In just 2 days?  Even here on the coast, that seems crazy-fast.

I tentatively wander through the yard assessing the damage.

snowdrops galanthus primula wanda after the big snow garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

My muscles certainly remember shoveling sidewalks & shaking shrubs.  But the winter blooms?  They’re like children in a hospital ward.  Perhaps a little bent & broken, but mostly they’re just happy to be alive and enjoying the sunshine.

snowdrops and primula after the big snow garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

The yellow cups of the winter aconite (Eranthis) don’t seem to have noticed they’ve survived 33 cm of snowfall since they showed themselves in January.   (That’s more than 12 inches – a full foot – – radical for balmy Victoria  BC!)

cyclamen coum in early February garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

The snowdrops (Galanthus) have also held up well.

The Primula Wanda leaves are super-sad, but who can’t smile at those tough purple flowers?

I hadn’t even noticed the crocus buds before the snow.  How did they arrive so quickly?

snowdrops galanthus after the big snow garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

The Cyclamen coum unfurl their petals as the sun warms them.  More blooms are on their way, too!  Soon they’ll be a mound of pink.

I’ve just gotta smile.

🙂

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garden chores, months 01-03: winter

March Garden Activities

2 Comments
camellia, march, near the YM-YWCA, , ws
photo by SVSeekins

Birds are more plentiful this month. They’re singing, mating & nest-building. I like to clean & refill birdbaths for them. It’s also nice to provide some nesting materials seeing as how I’ve already composted much of the natural material over winter.

cherry blooms in Beacon Hill Park
photo by SVSeekins

Tools

  • Sharpen pruners, shears and hedge clippers and make sure they’re free from rust.
  • It’s best to clean pruners between each shrub. Spray with a solution of 10% bleach & water. This helps to prevent the spread of diseases through the garden.
Cyclamen coum
photo by SVSeekins

Spraying 

  • Fruit Trees – before the blooms open, apply dormant oil to control pests (unless it was done in February)

Pruning

  • mahonia bloom
    photo by SVSeekins

    Hydrangea should be pruned after the middle of March to avoid die back from freezing winds.

  • The common butterfly bush blooms only on new growth, so now’s a good time to prune it to the shape that suits
  • Roses can be pruned when the forsythia is in bloom.
  • Forsythia & other flowering shrubs can be pruned right after flowering.
photo by SVSeekins
bergenia – elephant ears

Fertilizing

  • Add compost or Sea Soil to areas of heavy feeding, like rhubarb, asparagus patch & veggie bed

Planting

  • Chionodoxa - Glory of Snow in rock crevice
    photo by SVSeekins

    Plant summer flowering bulbs (gladioli & lilies) towards the end of the month, depending on the soil conditions. They don’t like sitting in waterlogged soils.

  • Sow sweet peas and hardy annuals such as alyssum, & calendula.
early daffodils
photo by SVSeekins

Weeding

  • As the temperature increases so will growth. This is when that January mulching really starts to pay off.   Wander through the beds digging out the occasional perennial weeds (dandelions…)  If the mulching didn’t happen, keep a check on the carpet of young weeds & remove them before they take hold… Pop Weed goes to seed quickly, so get rid of it fast!
photo by SVSeekins
Donkey Tail Spurge

Perennials

  • The worst of the cold is past now & the birds have more choices for food. Now’s the time to cut back the perennials left standing for the birdseed… Tall sedums blooms are a good example.  Isn’t it nice to see the new growth at the base is already showing?
  • Divide Snowdrops & Winter Aconite (Eranthis) while ‘in the green’.
  • Pot up the Tuberous Begonias, Dahlias & Cannas that have wintered in their bare root storage… keeping them inside gives them a head start before moving them outside in May.
photo by SVSeekins
hellebore and; crocus

Now’s also the time to finish up dividing those overgrown hardy perennials:

  • Cut the tops back to a couple of inches.
  • Lift the whole plant out with a fork.
  • Look for a natural line across the plant and cut it right through with a sharp knife.
  • Continue this until you’ve divided the plant up to suit your needs.
  • Replant the pieces in groups of 3-5 to make an impact in ornamental borders from repeating colour schemes.
  • Pot up spares immediately.  (The garden club welcomes donations!)
  • Water well.
English Daisy meadow WSO
photo by SVSeekins

Lawns

  • Edge the beds & lawns now, slicing the grass runners that are invading the beds.

The grass is growing steadily now,
Make sure the mower is serviced and ready for the season.

aubrecia & candy tuft dangling over a short wall
photo by SVSeekins
  • Before mowing, remove thatch and moss by scarifying with a lawn rake.
  • Set the blades to a higher setting (3cm) for the first few cuts.
  • Stay off or try to minimise activity on the lawn if it’s wet. It will turn to mud very quickly in the wet.
  • Re-seed any bare areas: scratch the surface with a lawn rake and sow.

Veg & Berry Patch

red flowering currant ms
photo by SVSeekins
  • Get into the raspberry patch & take out the spent & spindly stems. Tidy up the bed & tie this year’s producers to the trellis.
  • Starts – Direct seed arugula, broad beans, corn salad, kale, chard, spinach, oriental greens, and peas outdoors.
early rhododendron
photo by SVSeekins

Greenhouse & Cold Frames

  • Buy seed potatoes now and store the tubers in a light, cool (10°C), frost-free spot and leave them to sprout. (This is called chitting.) Egg cartons make good chitting trays. Make sure to put the tubers with the ‘eye’ end (where the sprouts will grow from) upwards.
  • Starts – asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, leeks, lettuce, peppers, eggplants…  start tomatoes later in the month
species tulip
photo by SVSeekins

Watch for ‘damping off’ disease in seedlings in the greenhouse or indoors. This fungus causes the stems to collapse and the seedlings to fall over.

  • Avoid over-crowding seeds & sprouts. It’s better to have a tray of fewer, healthier plants than to lose many to this disease
  • Water often, but sparingly
  • Ensure that seedlings get enough light to prevent them from becoming ‘leggy’.
  • Turn seed trays daily to ensure even growth.
grape hyacinth
photo by SVSeekins

Ponds
Remove fallen leaves and other decaying plant debris from ponds. Frogs and other aquatic life will be emerging from winter hibernation so a good tidy up now prevents stagnation & algae build-up.

basket of gold, aurinia
photo by SVSeekins
Seasonal Color
trees: flowering plum… early cherries…
shrubs: forsythia… red flowering currant… silk tassel bush… camellia… viburnum spring dawn… mahonia… heathers… Pieris (lily of the valley shrub)… sarcococca… heavenly bamboo… early rhodos… cotoneaster…
perennials: aubretia… basket of gold (Aurinia)… candy tuft… bergenia… hellebore… primula… winter jasmine… donkey tail spurge (euphorbia)… vinca (periwinkle)…
ferns: licorice…
bulbs: crocus… winter aconite (Eranthis)… Cyclamen coum… early daffodils… early species tulips… hyacinth… Chionodoxa (glory of snow)…
primula wanda
photo by SVSeekins

Planning & Events

  • The Victoria Orchid Club hosts its spring show (usually the first weekend in March)
  • Garden shops are opening up for the season, so it’s fun to cruise them for ideas, but most of their early starts aren’t ready to go out into the garden yet, so control yourself (unless you’re up for nursing those babies inside for another month or two).

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© SVSeekins, 2014

garden chores, months 01-03: winter

February Garden Activities

2 Comments
iris reticulata, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

It’s easy to LOVE February!  The crocus bloom is a Valentines gift I treasure  🙂

Tools

  • It really feels like the beginning of a new season for me.  I like to start fresh, so now’s the time to tidy up the garden shed.  Gather up all the tools.   Scrub off any debris or soil. Wipe wooden handles with some oil to strengthen & lengthen their lives.   Sharpen & oil pruners, shears and hedge clippers making sure they’re rust-free.
Crocus in lawn 2013, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Pruning

  • Summer blooming Clematis (Jackmanii, Earnest Markham, and Tangutica), the ones that flower on wood grown this year, should be cut almost to the ground, down to 4 to 6 buds.
  • For a tidier spring look, shear epimediums before they send up their delicate flower shoots… St. John’s Wort (groundcover) can also be sheered to 2 inches.
  • Prune summer-flowering shrubs like Buddleja davidii, Spiraea japonica, Hypericum forrestii and hardy Fuchsia. They benefit from cutting down hard in mid-late February.  Go crazy & copse the Red Twigged Dogwood.
  • Hydrangea is another summer-flowering shrub to prune now that the buds are showing… but be a little more delicate than a ‘copse’.
  • Tree peony flower in the spring, but by now we can see the buds swelling & know which branches died off through winter, so prune away.
  • When I’m feeling very tidy I’ll also cut back the evergreen sword ferns that are now at their most ragged.  They’ll soon be sporting fresh new growth & it’s kinda fun to watch it unfurl.
  • DON’T PRUNE spring-flowering shrubs like Forsythia, Clematis montana, Spiraea x arguta, Buddleja globosa, Viburnum tinus, and Ceanothus burkwoodi now. They flower on stems produced after last spring’s flowering, which have ripened over the summer.
primula, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Fertilizing

  • distribute a handful of lime & bone meal beneath Clematis,  Lilac, Hydrangea, Flowering Red Currant, Peony, Mock Orange, Sedum, Spirea & Aubretia
  • sprinkle tomato food onto areas where spring bulbs grow
Yucca in the winter garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Watering

  • Check any plantings under large overhangs for soil moisture. These areas can get very dry over winter. They don’t need a lot of water but enough to survive
hellebore and crocus garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Perennials

If they’re outgrowing their space, most late-blooming, hardy perennials can be lifted and divided now.

  • Cut the tops back to a couple of inches.
  • Lift the whole plant out with a fork.
  • Look for a natural line across the plant and cut it with a sharp knife right through.
  • Continue this until you have divided the plant up to suit your needs.
  • Replant the pieces in groups of 3-5 to make an impact in ornamental borders from repeating colour schemes.
  • Pot up spares immediately.
  • Water well.
crocus cluster gardem Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Lawns

  • Looking over the front yard, we seem to have a few blades of grass growing in our moss patch. Moss control can be applied in February, but remember it requires 2 full days without rain.  (Good luck with that  🙂
    The recommended type of moss control is a product that has fertilizer + ferrous sulfate (iron). Something with NPK numbers of 9-3-6 greens the lawn for about 30 days after the moss has been killed. Dolomite lime should be applied about 2 weeks after the moss kill.
  • If the lawn isn’t too wet & grass is growing, give it an early cut.
bergenia - elephant ears pig squeak garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Veg & Berry Patch

  • Start early plantings providing the soil isn’t saturated. Sweet Peas, Broad Beans, Spinach, Radishes, Green Onions, Chives, Clarkia, Poppies, and Flax will all germinate in the cool weather
  • Start Asian Greens and Radishes under row covers.
  • Buy seed Potatoes now and store the tubers in a light, cool (10°C), frost-free spot and leave them to sprout. This is known as chitting. Egg cartons make good chitting trays. Make sure you put the tubers with the ‘eye’ end ( where the sprouts will grow from) upwards.
  • Dig in over-wintered green manures such as Winter Rye.
  • Top dress’ over-wintered crops, such as autumn planted Onions, Broad Beans, and Spring Cabbage, to give spring growth a boost. Use a good rich garden compost or organic fertilizer.
  • To help the soil warm up more quickly, pull back any organic mulches, then cover with clear or black plastic. Put these in place a couple of weeks before sowing.
Donkey Tail Spurge garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Greenhouse & Cold Frames

  • Tidy up & sterilize thoroughly (even glass) before starting new plants. Remove all traces of last year’s problems rather than putting new plants at risk.
  • Prep seed starting supplies.: trays, pots, starter mix, heat mats, grow lights
  • Start:  Pansies, Lobelia, Begonias, and Pelargonium can be started in the greenhouse.
  • It’s also time to start Artichokes, Onions, Leeks, and Parsley indoors.
mahonia in February garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Watch for ‘damping off’ disease in seedlings in the greenhouse or indoors. This fungus causes the stems to collapse and the seedlings to fall over.

  • Avoid over-crowding seeds & sprouts. It’s better to have a tray of fewer, healthy plants than to lose many to this disease
  • Water often, but sparingly
  • Ensure that seedlings get enough light to prevent them from becoming ‘leggy’.
  • Turn seed trays daily to ensure even growth.
camellia, february, at the legislature, garden Victoria BC Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Seasonal Color

hardy cyclamen coum, persian violet, eastern sowbread, round-leaf cyclamen, C. coum, Cyclamen orbiculatum, garden Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Pacific Northwest
photo by SVSeekins

Planning & Events

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© SVSeekins, 2014