The Parish Magazine February 2026

HOME & GARDEN
AFOOT IN THE GARDEN
The promise of sunny
days to come
By Ray Puddefoot
February brings that uplifting moment when we know
that warmer days are on their way and our gardens'
transformation from winter browns and greys gathers a
pace.
The promise of warming sunny days grows and grows
until the day we all notice the world is green and lush
again.
A promise that starts with the Snowdrops, crocus,
winter eaconites, dwarf narcissus, primroses, hellebores
and friends.
While the deciduous trees and shrubs are still leafless,
take a moment to assess the structure of your garden and
plan any changes. Look to achieve a natural balance of
shape and form. If you want to colour theme your borders,
I would recommend getting a copy of the RHS
Encyclopaedia Of Plants And Flowers.
Visiting gardens and concentrating on structural
features, especially in February, can be very inspirational.
I have a project to make a wild, tangled, rustic trellis
inspired by a visit to Puzzle Wood in the Forest of Dean.
It is a magical place used in tv programmes and films
including ‘Dr Who’, ‘Merlin’, ‘Star Wars’, ‘Harry Potter’ and
‘The Secret Garden’.
Nearer to home many a Botanic Gardens has exciting,
small intimate gardens that are full of structural and
planting ideas.
FINISH WINTER PRUNING
Mild February days are a great opportunity to complete
the winter pruning and give the garden a tidy.
Direct spring seed sowing of half-hardy annuals and
perennials is a great budget friendly way of adding colour
to your borders.
It always amazes me how spring edging lawns makes a
garden look so neat and tidy.
Repair bare patches in lawns by lightly forking the soil
and sowing fresh lawn seed mixed with compost.
It’s a rewarding time to plant as the moist soils and
warming weather helps plants to establish quickly.
Many ‘summer impact’ bulbs and corms can be planted
from February onwards.
These include Lillies (I love the giants), gladioli,
sparaxis, nerine, cyclamen and crocosmia.
Always water well and mulch after planting to settle
plants in and reduce competition from weeds.
FEBRUARY TOP TIPS
PRUNE AND TIDY
PLANTING
SOWING
MULCHING BORDERS
SERVICE LAWNMOWERS
The Parish Magazine — February 2026 25
February images by Ray Puddefoot
Look out! Thieves about!
Keep a close eye on your belongings because, sadly, no
one else seems to be able to do so. Recent figures have
revealed that more than 121,000 car theft offences in
the UK were not solved in 2024-25.
Several police forces reported that more than 80% of car
thefts were unsolved with 35 of the 44 police forces in
England and Wales having a total rate of 6o% of all cases
going unsolved. Some critics even said that the dismal
figures shows that car theft has been decriminalised!
In the Reading area there was over 8,900 thefts from a
vehicle' while in the Thames Valley area only 58 thefts led
to the offender being charged.
Theft has been around for a long time. Jesus warned us
not to over-value the things that we own. He said:
'Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where thieves break in and steal.' (Matthew 6:19)