Jobs to do in February

Ok, so its still cold, dark and horrid, but on a sunny day there are worse things you could do than to get out in the garden for a while. You’ll feel better for it!

Now is a good time to plant new climbers such as clematis and honeysuckle. Make sure the base of the plants are shaded from full-sun.

To do:

Prune summer-flowering deciduous shrubs such as Buddleja and Lavatera. You can be quite ruthless with these shrubs. Cut back to low, well-placed branches.

Cut back ornamental grasses, but make sure you don’t damage any newly emerging shoots.

Prune Wisteria. Cut back the lateral branches and sideshoots to within 2 or 3 buds of their base. These will produce flowers for the coming year. Have a look at this RHS video for more information on wisteria pruning.

In dry, mild weather you can mow the lawn. Make sure you use a high blade setting on your lawn mower for the first few cuts. This can be lowered as the season progresses.