#FebruaryFrustrations to #FlowerPoweredFebruary

I find February quite a funny time of year. Luckily it’s the shortest month and, on the whole, it’s over in a flash. However on the coldest, greyest days, it can all get a bit frustrating. 

I’m itching to rush  into my greenhouses and get the new gardening year well into first gear, but I have to hold my nerve. Now is the time to be patient. I’ve learnt over the years that, as much as I want everything to start growing, the gardening groove is totally dependent upon the weather. At the moment it is still a rough and tumble mix of windy, wintery days. Only the bravest snowdrops and hellebores want to raise their heads in my slightly soggy South Cheshire patch.

To start sowing seeds and striking cuttings under glass is really jumping the gun by a good month for me. Even if I give pots and trays some bottom heat to encourage germination and rooting, the light levels and average air temperature in my unheated greenhouses aren’t quite ready to support good early growth.

Outside there are a few roses to be pruned, flurries of leaves to brush up, and a handful more pots to wash. However, on the whole, I’m holding back.  I’m also resisting trimming and tidying too many tatty leaves. The crowns of herbaceous plants will particularly benefit from bits of scruffy foliage being left in place. These can provide the all important buds in the leaf axils and at the base of old stems with that little bit of  extra protection from the chilling winds and late frosts. #notrimmingandtidying

Thankfully in this period of gardening abstinence my mind has been hi-jacked by an advance copy of my new book.

#Yay, it’s finally arrived.

So I’ve come full circle in this past year, and my #FebruaryFrustrations have been re-placed by #FebruaryFlowerPower.

I’m busy day-dreaming; mind-wandering through colour schemes, planting displays and a florepedia of delicious blooms, to perfect my plans for another #totalflowerfest and an utterly #flowerpoweredgarden in 2018. Bring it on!

#HurryUpMarch