February is not a great month in the garden as it is far too early to sow seeds even though the calendar lists it as the first month of spring. However, as March has slowly crept in, the buds have started to fill out on most trees and shrubs and some hedges have produced a hint of green.

The snowdrops came into their own in February, even though they were late by a couple of weeks this year. They really produce a great display of colour and the clumps fill out an extra bit every year.

We had daffodils in the rockery in bloom at the end of January and the rest won’t be far behind. The borders are all under-sown with snowdrops, daffodils and tulips, as well as other bulbs. They come in handy as a way to liven up the garden a little bit before the spring-flowering plants arrive.

It’s a good idea to have bulbs and herbaceous plants that come up in the border every year on their own accord and are very little trouble to mind.

There are plenty of other jobs to keep us busy. Make sure to check the early potatoes and set them out into sprouting boxes. This will get them off to an early start when they are sown this month, weather permitting. Hopefully the soil is in good condition and isn’t too wet.

Shallot onions could have been sown at any stage over the past few weeks. Having them in a raised bed is a good idea because if the weather is bad then the raised bed will dry out quickly. This saves the bulbs from rotting. Garlic can be sown in the same way.

Here in our garden we sow garlic for harvesting. When we harvest the big bulbs in August, we take the little bulbs or tubers and resow them. They always grow in the same plot.

They are all well up now and those little bulbs usually grow very well if they get a layer of farmyard manure after sowing. It gets them off to a good start.

This time of year can be very dull but planting some window boxes will liven the place up. A few primula don’t cost much and they also come in lovely colours – about three plants in each window box is normal.

There is also a lovely white arrangement for a window box for later in the year, Lily of the Valley. When placed towards the back of the window box, it will form a great backdrop to create some pretty white foam-like flowers. The green foliage creates a nice display when combined with some trailing green ivy, which should trail over the side.

The Lily of the Valley plant is growing in the border at the moment, so I will be digging some out for the box along with variegated green ivy which we have plenty of. You can get any of these plants in most local garden centres and nurseries and they are also perfect for hanging baskets. These are great for filling space before more suitable plants appear. CL