February: Starting to burst into color

Narcissus about to "pop"

  It is February and the bulbs are starting to "pop" here in North Georgia. The flowers on my camellia bushes are starting to fade, but the forsythia bush will be all yellow soon! I  love the transformation that starts this time of year.  I would love to have one of every spring-flowering bush in my small suburban yard, but it would look chaotic, I'm sure.

Looking at the greenhouse plants 

  Well, here is what I have been doing the past
weeks.  I have been checking on my greenhouse plants and making sure with nice warm days, the plants have enough water and don't "cook".

new starts from last fall's cuttings

 I still turn on the heater at night when it starts to get lower than 45 degrees.  This "green house" is just plastic wrapped around the posts of our upper deck.  This winter, I just had an outdoor rug over the deck, so the plants received water when it rained, but then I had to make sure they didn't drown! In the Fall, I cut stems off of the plants that I wanted to make more of.  I then took the stems, removed the lower leaves and dipped the stems in rooting hormone.  I made a hole with a chopstick in soil of the container and placed the stem in the hole.  The summer annuals stems I gave extra protection by putting them in my plastic container terrariums.  Most everything has roots now, which is so exciting because now I don't have to buy as many plants to fill the pots and beds!

seed tray in terrarium

tomato seedlings

   I still love using the clear containers taped together as a top and bottom for starting my seeds indoors.  This year I put the seed trays in the containers.  They keep moist and warm by my sliding glass door.  I started different varieties of peppers and tomatoes, lettuce and spinach.  In 2 weeks, the tomatoes were up and growing and the peppers soon after. So easy!  When the seedlings have 2 sets of true leaves, then I will carefully transplant to bigger pots.

Pansies, vinca major, daffadils

   So, here are some things to do for February:

• By seeds and potting soil
• Start summer veggies, like tomatoes and peppers to get a good start before the heat sets in
• When crocus bloom, set out lettuce, cabbage, onions, peas.  Cover on cold nights
• Add lime to azaleas
• Start layering hydrangeas for new plants
• Plant fruiting bushes now.
• Pull mulch away from strawberries and let runners fill in.
• Fertilize spring bulbs after flowering
• pinch back pansies when they get long and leggy: will bush out and new flush of flowers

   I found a book, Sunbelt Gardening: Success in Hot-Weather Climates that helped me understand our Southern climate a bit better.  It talked about the effect of nighttime temperatures, that if there is no respite in high temps, the plants can suffer.  That is why we get tomatoes out early in the South.  It also talked about micro-habitats in your yard and suggested plant 3 of a species in different places and see which on thrives, saying there is a difference between preference (performs best) and tolerance (just survives).  Great read!  Also, Small Gardens: Inspired Plantings for Diminutive Spaces by Becke Davis was great inspiration for garden rooms.   So, keep digging and reading!

African daisy overwintering