Welcome to February: Winter Is Passing by KCB

KCB is a professional gardener and friend who does wonderful work in the Greater Portland area. KCB is also an accredited Master Gardener by the Cooperative Extension Service and we are honored to have KCB as part of our Skillin's Garden Log family!

I embrace February! Ever since I can remember, February signified the end of winter. Not according to Mother Nature, the Calendar: Julian, Gregorian, Pagan or otherwise, but to me, at least internally.

February is the shortest month, you see; a month with just 28 days (well sometimes all of 29!). February flies by, ending more quickly than any other month. Meaning? Before we know it, March is here. What happens in March? Spring begins, which only could mean, winter ends in February. A logic I still carry with me. We are at winter’s end. Yes it snowed recently. As snow often does, it has already melted. It will snow soon again; it will melt soon again!

February is blessed with so many great features. Spring Bonds at Skillin’s. Migrating Cedar Waxwings invading the Hawthorne in front of my house. A month in which we celebrate love or the chance of being touched by cupid’s arrow. A month where we commemorate two of this country’s greatest presidents. Not to mention The Daytona 500 and so much more!

After moving to Maine, I discovered another rite of spring; the offering of Spring Bonds at Skillin’s and the celebration that is their Open House in Falmouth. No shameless plug intended, just facts As the date of the Open House approaches I will share more on why this has become such an event for me.

Oh did I mention, Spring Training ? Never mind, that was my last post?

There is so much to say about February I feel I may run out of month before I run out of ideas and memories.

This February offers us more than the February last, and that of the February to follow.

It gives us that once in every 4-years extra day. Bet some of you didn’t know it was a leap year!

A lot of traditions are centered around a leap year. To write about one of my favorites would surely reveal too much. Yet I am compelled to share. I always thought it odd that in was only during a leap year when it was permissible for a woman to ask a man to marry her. Leave it to an Irish woman, St. Brigit, to suggest this very concept.

Now on to February and your garden.

By now the Seed Catalogs are spilling over, you’ve marked the days on your calendar for the Skillin’s Open House. What else can you do? Lots!

The ever increasing day light and warmer weather offer more opportunity to walk around your property or neighborhood. As you do so, adopt the ‘garden trance’: the hypnotic state of staring at your landscape or garden bed.

On the first warm and fairly dry day walk around your property. Take note of any fallen or broken limbs. Start picking up any debris, limbs or the assorted unidentified objects that may have found their way on to your landscape. This will allow a jump start in preparation for those ever powerful March winds.

Continue to inspect your property. How do your flowering shrubs look? Any winter die back? Look closely at the inner branches now because when trees and shrubs are in full foliage many of the dead inner workings go unnoticed. Early spring is the time I prune and feed many of my shrubs. Not just yet, however. As time approaches I will share more.

Since you most likely will be pruning sooner than you expected, it is ever so important that your tools are sharp and ready. If you haven’t seen to this task before the tools were retired for their long winter’s nap, dig them out now. There is nothing so maddening as heading out with your pruners and discovering that they only serve to bend or squeeze the branch. As much as this frustrates you, just think of the damage dull tools can inflict on your shrub or plant! Most people who sharpen tools are less busy this time of year and welcome your business. When other gardeners are waiting for the return of their tools, your tools will have already begun their spring training.

Include hand saws and long handled loppers with the tools to be sharpened. By removing any limps or branches that are at risk now, you just may avoid more damage after a storm. Who can forget the devastation left by the Patriot’s Day Storm of last April?

Are your current tools in need of permanent retirement? Now is the perfect time to purchase new tools. Inventories are ready or an item can be ordered to beat the onset of the season. There are some things I never scrimp on, gardening tools and high -thread count bed sheets. Go figure?!

I can not caution enough, however. Do not attempt any pruning near power lines. When it comes to the limbs of trees, a Licensed Arborist is key,

Still too cold to spend a good deal of time outside? Review your early spring notes from last years Garden Journal? What, you do not keep a journal? Then start one—today.

You need not write long narratives, just jot down the date and a few words. Some things to consider, mark the day migrating birds stop by and the shrub, tree or food that attracted them. Record the second you notice the first Hyacinth or crocus sprout. Keep track of the amount of snow during the next couple of months; as plants wake and emerge, water is critical in the movement of nutrients through the plant. Still at a loss for words? Invest in a digital camera or purchase a disposable one. Remember, one picture says a thousand words. Simply paste a picture of the first sprout or bird with the date. I’m smiling because I know from experience you will be making notes, adding ideas and whatever may come to mind.

I know many people who would shun the idea of keeping a journal for moments in their personal lives, yet find their garden journal much more than just about gardening. For special treatment do purchase one that looks and feels good. Flowers on the cover not really optional. For the men—I know one or two who keep their ‘little black book’ not far from their hand pruners. Some entries that have been shared with me include dimensions for future fences, new beds or the distance between the 2 trees to see if the hammock will fit. One client even gave me the item # of a hammock they wanted from a certain Maine Catalog company. See how convenient a journal can be.

Homework: Sharpen tools, purchase journal and/or notebook. Inspect Landscape. Take time to dream. We have a lot of work to get started on!

See you next time.