Devonshire February March 17
Devon's Countryside, Wildlife, History and Events
Devon's Countryside, Wildlife, History and Events
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GARDENING<br />
Preparing for the new Season by Gill Heavens<br />
What? You haven’t started preparing for the new season yet?<br />
Oh dear, never mind, no need to panic, but we better get on with it!<br />
In the horticultural Olympics<br />
spring is the sprint event. It is a<br />
time when the natural world goes<br />
into hyper-drive after the inertia<br />
of winter and it can sometimes<br />
feel like you are running for your<br />
life. Just like any successful athlete,<br />
in order to not to be trampled<br />
underfoot in the mad dash, you<br />
must be fully prepared for the<br />
race. I think we may have had<br />
enough athletic analogies, shall<br />
we get down to the nitty gritty?<br />
Now is the perfect time of<br />
year to cut back any remaining<br />
herbaceous foliage and seed<br />
heads, which have hopefully<br />
been feasted upon by your garden<br />
wildlife. This will enable you to see<br />
a clearer picture; what has grown<br />
too large, is being swamped by a<br />
neighbour or perhaps struggling<br />
to be seen. You can then divide<br />
the vigorous, move the strangled<br />
or give a little extra loving care, all<br />
as necessary. Avoid doing this in<br />
frosty weather, though in balmy<br />
One of your allies in the garden, warming up in the early hours<br />
of the morning - look after them in the colder months and<br />
they'll help keep your garden pests at manageable levels<br />
Devon we are generally excused<br />
the worst of the icy snaps. Be<br />
careful of any emerging bulbs,<br />
you don’t want to cut them off<br />
before they have even reached<br />
their prime. What I mean is, be<br />
sure to “tip toe through the tulips”.<br />
Next give your borders a thorough<br />
weed and mulch using either your<br />
own garden compost, spent<br />
mushroom compost, well-rotted<br />
manure, wood chip, which ever<br />
you have available. This will<br />
limber up your borders for the<br />
coming year, give them a head<br />
start against the weeds and make<br />
them look pristine. As this might<br />
be the only time this year they are<br />
so manicured, enjoy it while you<br />
can. I may just be talking about<br />
my own garden here!<br />
If you grow plants in pots this<br />
is an ideal opportunity to do an<br />
annual service. Re-pot them<br />
if they have outgrown their<br />
continued overleaf...<br />
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