Most of this year in the garden so far seems to have been spent on my poor old knees raking off slime in the borders to make sure the spring bulbs can come through and be seen.  I’ve a brilliant tool for it, it’s a hand held bamboo rake , does the job a treat. It manages to get the gunk off such as leaves, soggy plant material and other yuk, without doing any damage.  I got mine from the Great Dixter online shop, but the Niwaki site has it too.  The other good tool I use all year round is a little short handled spade that came from a builders’ merchant.  It’s probably no good if you are on the tall side but it is light, has a good, sharp blade so is good for digging up dandelions and cutting through clay soil, and it’s really cheap. You can pay a lot for a standard garden spade that would last you much longer and so is usually worth the investment, but if you don’t want to lay out a fortune it’s a good option.  

There was much excitement early this year when the garlic started to come up.  I planted  elephant garlic this time, we love it roasted with potatoes.  It’s milder but when baked in the oven it turns into creamy, soft morsels of yumminess tasting more like leek than garlic.  It’s probably not too late to plant now, but get it in quick as it likes a cold snap to get it started.

I can’t write a February Kate’s Cuttings without talking about snowdrops. We have thousands of them here now, in borders, in rough grass, anywhere that is a little shady really.  Every year I dig a few up after flowering and pop them in somewhere new.  Last year I popped some in round a group of hostas so the emerging leaves of the hosta will cover up the snowdrops as they  die back.  It’s always best with any bulb to let the leaves die back naturally so don’t cut them off or tie them up. Then they will help feed the bulb for next year and give you another year’s pretty flowers.

Peter kindly bought me a great New Year gift: a new cold frame. The old one was falling apart and so I gave it a fond farewell speech for long service and am now enjoying this smart new one.  Cold frames are really useful, especially if you want to keep plants out of the worst of the weather.  They keep things a little warmer and drier without mollycoddling.   Hardy or semi hardy cuttings that are just getting going, alpines that need to be kept on the dry side, anything that needs hardening off a little before planting out in the spring can all go in. If it gets really cold some fleece or an old curtain can be thrown over the top for a bit more short term protection. We keep the greenhouse to around 5 degrees Celsius, which is good for most plants such as geraniums, tender shrubs like some abutilons and dahlias and summer bulbs that need a little protection. Not that we don’t lose things from time to time:  if the cold doesn’t get something the mice usually do!  Sweet pea seeds are a special treat for them, I’ve gone through a whole packet so far and I still can’t see where the little critters are getting in.

Spring is such a special time in the garden.  Watching everything come through the bare soil and hearing the birds singing really lifts the spirits and we all so need it now don’t we?