February: the garden awakens
The first rays of February sun are your starting signal. Clean up dead stems, rake leaves from borders and prepare for the season ahead.
Pruning season
February-March is pruning time. Roses: cut back to 3-5 buds. Hydrangea Annabelle: to 30cm. Butterfly bush: to 40cm. Ornamental grasses: cut all clumps to 10cm. But spring-flowering shrubs (forsythia, lilac) should only be pruned AFTER flowering.
Feed the soil
Spread 3-5cm of compost over your borders. On the lawn: apply a slow-release organic fertilizer.
First sowings
From mid-March sow outdoors: peas, broad beans, spinach, radish. Indoors on the windowsill: tomatoes, peppers, cucumber (outside only after the last frost).
April: the garden explodes
Plant perennials and ornamental grasses. Divide overgrown clumps. Give the lawn its first mow — not too short, 5cm is fine.