Pennells Garden Centres

With the clocks changing at the end of last month the longer days and lighter evenings gives us more time to enjoy the garden as well as to get the garden in shape for the spring and summer.

Lawns will now be growing well and you will need to start to cut them fortnightly or even weekly if the weather is fine. Now’s a good time to feed the lawn to keep them looking at their best. Its also an ideal time to sow or turn new lawns

The early spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils will be starting to go over but the tulips should be at their best this month. Don’t be in a hurry to take the foliage off the bulbs – leave them for at least six weeks so that the bulbs can store sufficient food to take them through into next year.

Hardy perennials will be starting to grow and it’s a very good time to lift and divide large clumps. Using a spade simply dig up the whole of the clump and then using the spade carefully divide the clump. You should get several new plants that you can replant in the border.

In the glasshouse now is the time to be sowing greenhouse vegetables such as tomatoes. You can also start frost tender vegetables such as courgettes and runner beans in pots either in the glasshouse or on a warm windowsill.

As spring breaks and the garden comes alive, the state of your lawn is a critical factor in the appearance of the whole garden. Bring your lawn up to scratch now to realise its full potential. The grass will start to grow and now is the time to start to give it its first cuts. Start off with the mower set so that it cuts just the top third of growth.  Don’t cut the lawn if it is frosty or very wet.

If your lawn has moss in it March is the ideal time to treat it. Ask at the centre for advice on what to use. 

Now is the time to start sowing vegetables such as carrots, radishes and lettuces outdoors. Plant out onions from sets as well as your first early potato’s. Weed the fruit and vegetable beds so that they have a good start.

Sweet peas should be sown now so that they establish well. Sow in John Innes Seed and Sowing compost in small pots under cover. 

Other things to do:

Prune bushes and shrubs to encourage new growth

Plant Gladioli and Lily bulbs around the borders for summer growth

Divide and replant congested herbaceous plants

Sow hardy outdoor flowers such as Love-in-a-mist, cornflowers and calendula

Gardening in January and February does rather depend on what the weather is doing. Hopefully after all the cold and snowy weather we had before Christmas it will be a mild start to the year.

If the ground isn't frozen outside then it's a good time to start your winter digging on the vegetable patch, taking care to remove any perennial weeds such as couch grass you may find. Before you start to dig spread a layer of compost such as farmyard over the surface. As you dig the area the manure will get worked into the soil enhancing its nutrition.

Indoors prepare seed potato for planting later in the spring. Place the seed potato's in old egg cartons with the rose end (where you can see tiny buds) upwards. The trays should be kept in a cool but light place for four to six weeks prior to planting. This will encourage the buds to start to grow but they should remain short and dark green. If they turn white and become elongated they aren't  getting enough light. 

Other things to do:

• Prune Apple and Pear trees
• Keep an eye out for weeds in the vegetable garden
• Start to sow seeds under frost protection such as a greenhouse.
• Check that the snow and frost hasn't loosened newly planted shrubs.
• Prune back overgrown shrubs
• Plant summer flowering bulbs
• Plan for the spring
• Winter pruning of Wisteria - for more advice see below

Plants to add colour to you garden in January and February:

• Dogwoods
• Gaultheria
• Snowdrops (these can be divided soon after flowering)
• Helleborus varieties
• Hardy Cyclamens

As we approach the colder autumn days the leaves on the trees change colour and soon start to fall. Collect the fallen leaves to make compost for next season. Its important to remove them from lawns as they will soon damage the grass, but in the borders unless they are unsightly they can be left as the worm population will soon pull them below the surface.

There is still time to be planting bulbs for next spring, and we continue to have a good range for sales.

This is an excellent time of year to be planting shrubs and perennials as the soil is still warm. This will encourage the plants to make new roots which will get them firmly established so that come next spring they will grow away well.

In the vegetable garden nows a good time to be lifting and dividing rhubarb. Try sowing herbs such as parsley, dill and coriander into small pots to harvest from the windowsill during the winter.

Nows the time to change over the summer bedding in your pots and containers to autumn and winter bedding. We have a large range of pansies and other winter flowering bedding plants which will keep your patio looking beautiful through the winter.

Its important that you continue to feeding your container plants - as the plants get bigger they soon use up any nutrients in the compost. We recommend Miracle Gro Pour and Feed.

Use water wisely, consider setting up a waterbutt to collect the rain fall from your roof. If the tap water in your area is hard then using rain water will be of great benefit to acid loving plants.

Prune late summer flowering shrubs after flowering.

Prune Wisteria now to encourage the development of new flowering spurs for next year's display of flowers. For more information on how to do this see the article below.

Keep an eye on any new plants in the garden and be sure to water them. At this time of year any rain we do get soon dries up - so remember to give at least two or three litres a plant until they become established.

In the vegetable garden nows the time to be lifting onions and drying them on rack. Continue to harvest veg such as peas and runner beans. Keep an eye on your apples and pears as they will soon be ripening. Nows the time to start to propagate new strawberry plants by selecting runners.

Continue to tie in and support tomato plants, peppers, cucumbers, aubergines and melons as they develop, especially as fruit starts to swell or they will quickly topple over and be damaged

Water and feed tomatoes - Tomorite is designed to ensure that your plants continue to thrive

Protect salad plants from slugs and snails. Now the weather has turned wetter then the slugs will be out looking for a meal. We recommend Eraza as one of the best methods for control. This new product is five times more effective than conventional pellets.