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Gardening Ideas February 2010

Post questions, comments and answers in the Gardening Ideas section on Candis Chat

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Plants that bloom in winter mostly have small, unassuming flowers but compensate by packing a powerful punch in the fragrance department. The best example is a small evergreen shrub called Daphne odora, whose origins lie in wooded areas of China and Japan. The clusters of pale pink flowers pump out a sweet, spicy fragrance capable of scenting the air for a wide distance and certainly over the whole of an average sized garden. For me, plants are memory joggers and one sniff of a daphne whisks me back to the RHS Wisley gardens in Surrey where I used to live and work. Back in the early 1980's our home was a flat in the roof of the laboratory building and my commute to work as Glasshouse Supervisor, a short walk through one of the most beautiful gardens in the country. A Daphne odora used to grow (and maybe still does) near the entrance, just outside the directors office. As visitors descended the steps on a still, sunny winters day, they were charmed and intoxicated by its delicious scent - a perfect way to start their stroll. To succeed with this daphne, remember that it is essentially a woodland plant and prefers sun or light shade and good, moist yet well-drained, humus-rich soil.

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What to do in February

......in the kitchen garden

• sow a hardy pea such as 'Early Onward' into lengths of guttering filled with multipurpose compost in an unheated greenhouse or frame. Space the seeds 5cm/2in apart and protect from mice. They make 'instant' rows for an early crop.
• Prune out the old canes of summer fruiting raspberries and thin the new ones to five per plant, tying them in to their support. Winkle out any weeds without disturbing the raspberry roots and mulch with well-rotted compost or manure.
• Plant the knobbly tubers of Jerusalem artichokes. These easy-to-grow root vegetables will thrive even in the poorer, less sunny parts of your plot and still yield tasty tubers for next winters soups and bakes.

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......in the flower garden

• During mild spells, tackle large, sprawling clumps of herbaceous perennials such as Michaelmas daisies, achilleas and astilbe not dealt with in the autumn. Lift, divide and replant into freshly conditioned soil to give them a fresh lease of life.
• Towards the end of the month, prune back clematis which flower during late summer. You can almost take the shears to large, established plants, cutting them down to within 60cm/24in of the ground.
• Prune roses, weed around them, apply a dressing of rose fertilizer to each one and then mulch over the roots with well rotted manure or other soil conditioner. This is a good time to add new plants too.

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......and in general

• Propagate your own dahlia plants. Choose and buy a tuber, plant it in a shallow seed tray buried by about two thirds with mulitpupose compost and keep it warm and light (preferably in a propagating case). Take the new shoots as cuttings - they root easily.
• Pelargoniums, fuchsias and other tender perennials kept over winter in a frost free greenhouse will be returning to life. As soon as they start to grow, prune them quite hard so that new growth can replace the old.
• Treat all houseplants to a thorough cleaning to let light enter their leaves. Feed any that are in active growth, choosing high potash fertilizer for flowering sorts and high nitrogen for those with showy foliage.

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Q and A:

Q: We have a large magnolia in our front garden. Can we prune it and if so, when?

A: I bet it's Magnolia soulangiana, because they were a very fashionable choice as a front garden specimen tree forty or fifty years ago. You can prune them, a job best tackled during the winter months, but they will re-grow vigorously. Thin and reduce height by sawing out up to one third of the branches, keeping an eye on the natural shape. In spring, watch out for buds bursting just below the cuts and rub them off otherwise you'll have a forest of vertical 'water shoots'.

Q: We've now grown most of the 'usual' vegetables on our allotment. What uncommon type would you suggest, that is tasty and useful.

A: It's true that some unusual veg (Asparagus peas spring to mind) are a novelty, but don't rise to family favourite status. Have you tried Borlotti beans? I'd go for the climbing type and grow them just like climbing French. The red-splashed pods are attractive, you can eat them as young sliced beans and let some mature to use in soups and stews. After harvesting the mature seeds, dry them quickly as they soon rot if cold and damp. Borlotti Lingua di Fuoco 'Tongue of Fire' climbing type from Seeds of Italy 020 8427 5020 www.seedsofitaly.com would be a good choice.

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