Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! January was a lot quieter this year, so maybe February will be our winter month? And what will Mr. Groundhog have to say?
Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year are on the same day … time for a household innovation … noodle hearts? This, followed by Family Day … hmm, a good day for everyone to tour the yard and draw up plans for the year? Add a pond, raised veggie garden or a mystery corner? Could be fun! Enjoy the month, smile behind those masks! This, too, shall pass!
We Dig – Do It Now Tips
• Start hoeing and weeding to avoid overload later. The wet ground makes it easier
• Shrubs, roses and deciduous trees can be transplanted as soon as the soil is workable
• Cut away any broken branches from winter storms as close to the main branch as possible
• Create new rock gardens away from trees and shrubs
• Prune back lateral and side branches of wisteria to within 2-3 buds
• Bring dahlias into the warmth; divide and expose new shoots to daylight
• must be done before the sap runs
• Sow hardy annual seeds, such as sweet peas, and California poppy where they are to bloom as soon as weather breaks
• Plant broad beans and peas mid-month and peas and radish late February
• Plan to grow a new vegetable that you have never grown before. Dwarf varieties use less space and produce more food per square foot!
• Check stored bulbs, tubers and corms and discard any soft or diseased
• Moss likes cold wet mild winters. Kill it now.
• Clean and sharpen tools
• Turn compost
Did you know …
… the flower of the month is the Violet? meaning modesty, virtue and faithfulness
… that peas should be planted when the forsythia blooms?
… the rarest flower in the world is Middlemist Red Camellia found in New Zealand and England only?
… that your old electric toothbrush will clean the tiny feeder ports on your hummingbird feeder?
… that Chionophobia is fear of snow?
Pick of the Month – Crocus
A member of the iris family; it is a small but mighty plant bringing joy and cheerfulness to the winter grey. It is also known as a symbol of hope – winter will end! Spring will come. COVID-19 will die and life will go on. From Snow crocus (first to bloom) to giant Dutch crocus, all come in a variety of colours: reds, pinks, yellows, oranges, purples, blues and white. They multiply and come back with little upkeep. Crocus corms (not bulbs) can be planted almost anywhere in early fall in well drained soil. Plant 3” deep in groups of 10. Apply a balanced fertilizer in the fall. Wait for February.
AND … what does it mean when the groundhog sees a maple leaf on Feb. 2?
Six more weeks of bad hockey!
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