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

My greenhouse for nurturing plants

Some overwintering pots

I don't know if it is because of growing up on a farm or if I've just learned through life that I am a nurturer.  But I am.  I do it with my kids, my relationships and my garden.  I invest time and energy and thought. 

Our under-deck greenhouse.

I have desired to have a garden shed or greenhouse for, well, since I started gardening.  The thought of nurturing little seeds or new plants, watching them grow, taking care of their needs- it sounded like the perfect thing.  So, I started looking at all these different greenhouse plans for do-it-yourself-ers.  But cash flow always seemed to be a hurdle that wouldn't allow it to happen.  My husband and I happened upon an idea, after much thought, that has turned out to be a feasible one.  Basically we utilized the space under our 2nd story deck as a greenhouse, enclosing it with plastic, grabbed a screen door that a neighbor was throwing away and found shelving.  In our relatively mild winters, I only need to turn on a space heater when it is threatening to be in the 30s or lower.  Granted, the plastic needs to be replaced every year or two.  But, it has worked for us.

Hanging pots, big pots & little pots on shelves

I have overwintered my hanging pots, so I don't have to buy all new plants in the Spring.  I have been able to make new starts of plants I already have, thus filling my pots and beds (and  I usually have leftovers to give away).   I can start seeds in Spring in which the plants are bigger when I put them out in the gardens or pots.

A bromeliad that Aunt Judy gave me.

Just so you don't think it is always a success story, I did take my favorite color of coleus stems and put them in water to make them grow roots.  Then I potted them and put them in my greenhouse around October/November.  They were doing great till I let it get too cold and lost them when the temps dropped this month. I forgot to turn on the heater. It happens.  But everything else has done well.  I even have a bromeliad blooming because of the warm days that heat up the greenhouse to 80 degrees sometimes.

We have hammered nails into the overhead deck boards to hang pots. From dry cleaner hangers, I have taken out the cardboard piece and used the metal part to hang on the nails, bringing the pots closer to my reach. I have a little potting bench that my hubby made when we moved to Georgia.  It is great to have a workspace for re-potting and starting seeds.  But I happened onto something a few years ago when we were cleaning out the kids plastic bin that held outdoor toys.  The hinged lid was starting to break and we were going to toss it in the trash.  But I stuck it in the greenhouse while I thought about how I could use it.  Then it came to me- a bin for soil!  It is perfect, with a big opening.  No more wrestling with the bag and spilling soil everywhere.  And I even leave my plastic spade in there where I need it. 

 So, I have a place to nurture my garden plants.  It is not a fancy new shed, but I works for me and my budget.