Late winter is no time to hang up your gardening gloves. In fact, the quiet weeks before spring offer the perfect opportunity to get ahead and set the scene for months of colour and growth.
From lifting spirits with pots of early bulbs to sowing annuals, forcing rhubarb and keeping slugs at bay, small, timely jobs now can make a remarkable difference later.
At Stockton Bury, gardener and RHS judge Tamsin Westhorpe shares her practical, no-nonsense advice for using this in-between season wisely — spreading the workload, nurturing plants gently and ensuring the garden is primed to burst into life when warmer days arrive.
1. Create an instant display
Make the most of pots of small spring bulbs such as crocuses and miniature irises. Try decanting them into wire baskets and junk-shop finds such as old teapots and mugs.
Add a layer of gravel or crocks for drainage, then lift the bulbs into their new setting, adding more compost if necessary. A topping of moss sets them off nicely. At Stockton Bury, we use trugs of hellebores and pots of bulbs to brighten ledges and windowsills.
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Use secondhand mugs, teapots and wire baskets to showcase spring bulbs
2. Sow annual bedding plants
Start them off from seed now and save money. My current favourites are tithonia, Ammi major and cornflowers. If you’re really thrifty, you may have saved seed from your own annuals last year. Just check that it’s healthy and hasn’t gone mouldy before you go to the effort of sowing.
My top tip is: don’t panic-sow. Sowing all your seed at once creates a lot of pressure when everything starts to germinate. By staggering it, you’ll create a longer-lasting display and will extend the flowering season.
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Plant cornflower seeds now for pretty blooms come summertime
3. Cover up rhubarb
This is the perfect time to force rhubarb so that you can pick tender pink stems in a couple of months. Excluding the light is key to an early crop.
At Stockton Bury, we use classic terracotta forcers brought out of storage, scrubbed and set in place. They’re both beautiful and useful, but any kind of tall cover that keeps out the light will do, such as an upside-down dustbin.
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Force rhubarb now for tender pink stems in a few months’ time
4. Stop slugs in their tracks
Spotted the first tender new shoots of delphiniums in the borders? It’s likely the slugs have, too. Act now to protect plants with a barrier against them.
We save the ashes from the woodburning stove and encircle the delphiniums with a protective ring. Other options include natural-wool pellets or coffee grounds from your cafetière.
5. Carry on composting
Pick up any dead, damaged or diseased woody plant material, cut it up or shred it and compost it. This adds roughage to the compost heap and stops it from becoming soggy. We do leave decorative stems and seedheads in place for wildlife and interest, but inevitably, some need tidying up.
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Add dead, damaged or diseased woody plant material to your compost heap
6. Give hedges a final trim
Now is the time to give a mixed hedge one last cut, if needed, before the birds nest. Be sure not to accidentally cut back any spring-flowering shrubs.
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Give your hedge a trim and tidy before birds make their nests
7. Make more plants
This is a good time to divide perennials that are outgrowing their space. At Stockton Bury, we’ll typically be lifting and dividing hemerocallis, hostas and agapanthus.
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Now is a good time to divide perennials that are outgrowing their space
8. Repot your auriculas
If you grow auriculas for display, now is the time to check them over and repot them into more attractive terracotta pots. While doing this, check for hibernating vine weevil grubs in the compost.
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Arrange auriculas in pretty pots around the garden
9. Give your fuchsias a boost
Repot fuchsia bushes that have been kept in a frost-free environment throughout winter. Use fresh compost and a bigger pot if needed.
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Repot fuchsia bushes – using fresh compost and a bigger pot if needed
10. Finally, don’t stop gardening!
Even now, it’s not too late to plant bare-root trees and shrubs. Winter gardening spreads the workload and makes spring far more manageable.
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Don’t let the cold weather stop you getting out into the garden!
Tamsin is a gardener and director at Stockton Bury Garden near Leominster in Herefordshire and an RHS judge. Her latest book is Grasping the Nettle (Orphans, £14.99)
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