February.......
Oh boy ! Is this rain going to end?! There are parts of the gardens that I look after and are working on that look like they have already joined the WW1 commemoration events......
NEVER work on or with area that are water-logged if you can possibly help it.....it squeezes the life out of the soil by compressing it. This means that all the natural organic processes that are going on ( air meeting rotting vegetation/worms & microcosms feeding off organic material) are starved of what they need. Apart from anything else - it is bloomin' hard to stand upright on it and to clean it off your shoes!
A favourite solution is to put down planks to cross over these areas and where the lawns have been compressed, to stand on these planks to fork holes into the grass. This will begin to 'aerate' the soil.
You will help your lawn by raking up leaves that are stopping the light and air getting to the grass.
Most trees and shrubs are well and truly dormant at this time of year. So now is the time to do that tree pruning - cutting off diseased or damaged branches ( there will be a few of those after these high winds ). When you cut off a branch try not to leave a 'clothes peg' on the tree by leaving too much. Try to make the cut close the main stem but not so close that it damages the bark.
I always try to make a preliminary cut BELOW the final cut so when the branch does fall it doesn't tear the bark down the tree. Even better, make a rough cut well away from the main stem and after disposing of that, make the final cut accurately; you have more control that way
It may be wet, grim and grey some of these February days but with the emergence of the snowdrops, the glowing of the dogwood stems ( Cornus) and the fragrance of a number of lesser-known Loniceras (Honeysuckle family) there is plenty to enjoy.
New life is preparing to burst out and is not that far away at all..........................
