By IW Observer.co.uk
Many of you will have already seen the first signs of spring while out and about. On the ground, snowdrops are looking glorious, and up above the Mimosa trees are in full blossom.
Catkins hanging from hazel, silver birch and white willow trees, camelias, crocus and early daffodils beginning to bloom. It won’t be long before grass verges and front gardens are a sea of beautiful yellow blooms.
We have been quite lucky with the weather so far with less rainfall than the last few winters. If you are lucky enough to have free draining soil, then you can make a start preparing your vegetable beds by digging them over and working in some homemade compost if you have some.
Alternatively, you can source some well-rotted farmyard- or horse-manure and add this to your beds and borders. Make sure it is well rotted though as fresh is too strong for young plants.
If you have a greenhouse or polytunnel then you can start sowing a few early vegetables such as peas and carrots. Our Island garden centres have their seed potatoes in now so you can lay these out in trays to prepare for planting in a few weeks’ time.
With March soon upon us, it will be time to give roses and wisteria their spring prune. You will need a good sharp pair of secateurs and even loppers for this task and, preferably, a pair of thorn-resistant gloves for the roses!
Roses need to pruned back to an outward facing bud and remove any dead wood. Wisteria should be cut back to just two buds and remove all unwanted growth. Don’t be tempted to cut back hydrangea just yet though. The old flower heads protect the young shoots from the frost, so leave them on at least until late March.
Other jobs for the month ahead include pressure-washing your decking and patios, feed your spring bulbs with a high potash fertiliser, and generally have a good tidy up before the growing season gets well under way in a few weeks!
Isle of Wight Observer