Despite the lingering effects of the ongoing summer, February can be a wonderful month on the gardening calendar. As signs of the extreme heat begin to fade (we hope) and the arrival of autumn draws ever closer, there’s a real feeling of relaxation in my eyes despite the impending amount of work needed to clean up after a long, hot summer. Trees, shrubs and other plantings will need a bit of TLC to remove any dead and dying branches, maybe a bit of ‘legginess’ to take care of, but otherwise just a good boost of nutrients all around after such a demanding few months of growth.
February is also sometimes the month when you sit down outside with a cuppa and suddenly notice the rampant growth of just about everything you’ve happily left alone over the Christmas and New Year period. “Wow, that’s really taken off this year!” or “Gee, that [insert shrub name here] desperately needs a prune!” are often the catch-cries of this time of the year.
Well, the good news is that over the next few months, the garden conditions should be ideal to tackle just about anything you’d care to name. Removing deadwood on large tree specimens to improve aesthetics and promote their ongoing health; pruning and deadheading of spent spring and summer growth on your smaller shrubs; some skilful hedge cutting to create crisp, clean lines that are the envy of the neighborhood or simply just to allow more light into your garden as winter approaches. A good tidy-up now will mean you can move on to the more joyous elements of gardening, such as planting some winter vegies, some autumn colour or even some bulbs for the spring.
However, if the heat of summer lingers over the next few weeks and the humidity common to this time of year becomes unpleasant, chop down (pun intended) your garden jobs into smaller, more manageable chunks and/or get in some professionals to do the work for you. If the humidity is a problem, remember to keep watch for potential pest and disease issues, as February can be one of the worst times of year for them. Oh, and the weeds, of course, but that could be said of any time of the year. Weeding is endless if you have a garden.
February jobs to do now:
- Weed and feed lawns
- General weeding before seeding
- Pruning for shape and health
- Tree health checks
