Protect plants in freezing February
With a bit of thought, there is a way of planting in parts of your garden that can result in both an attractive and practical solution to garden maintenance – it’s called ground cover.
This doesn’t refer to a particular species of plants but the job that many plants can do if planted closely together as a group to form a continuous mat across the soil. Think of it as a magic carpet!
The primary reason to do this is to suppress weed growth that would otherwise flourish in bare soil, so it’s a low maintenance and environmentally friendly way to banish the weeds.
Ground cover can also unify a planting scheme by providing a pleasing backdrop.
It’s a handy solution to tricky spaces like slopes that are hard to maintain and can be an alternative to lawns that are high maintenance.
We see this happening in nature – if you walk into woodlands at different times of the year and observe the planting, you can see that what happens in nature can also be replicated in your plot.
For example, the forest floor may be carpeted in wild garlic or beautiful bluebells – they are doing so well that nothing else can compete.
Depending on your site and situation, you can choose plants that will form a blanket over the soil which looks good for a lot of the year and leaves no room for other undesirable plants or weeds to invade.
So how do you create a magic carpet in your plot?
First you need to remove any existing weeds – as in cooking, start with a clean, uncluttered surface.
Most plants will do better in enriched soil so add in some organic matter such as compost or well-rotted manure.
You’ll also need some mulch such as a fine bark to cover any bare soil that is left after planting – this will suppress weeds until your ground cover plants start to knit together.
Now select your species. You want plants that will spread but not so vigorously that they become a problem themselves!
Ideally choose plants that are evergreen, low maintenance, look good and flourish in your particular site and microclimate.
I use epimediums a good deal – once established they smother the ■ We’re well into freezing February so keep plants protected if necessary with some horticultural fleece or move them indoors. possibility of any weeds and I love them for their heart-shaped foliage and delicate flowers in spring.
Good for dry shade where they will form soft bushy mounds.
Pachysandra terminalis ‘Green Carpet’ is an evergreen, low-rise ‘shrubette.’
Otherwise known as Japanese spurge, it has handsome glossy green – toothed leaves and white flowers in summer.
Useful for partial or fully shaded areas, it will form a mat of green, just so long as the soil doesn’t dry out.
Heucheras are wellbehaved ground covers – they don’t invade but gently
■ Daffodils are starting to poke through the ground. If you haven’t planted any in the ground, buy some pots in the garden centre and plant up in a container.
■ Prune summer-flowering deciduous shrubs such as Buddleja davidii, hardy fuchsias and lavatera – this will not affect their flowering as they flower on new wood.
Don’t prune spring-flowering shrubs like forsythia, for example, as that removes their flower buds.
■ Cut back late summer – and autumn-flowering clematis to just a foot above ground level.
■ Sow onions, early leeks, peas, increase their girth. The vast range of foliage colours leaves you plenty of choice from deep purples through oranges to limey greens.
Hardy geraniums are one of the easiest perennials to grow and tolerate most soil. cabbage and lettuce under cover.
Towards the end of the month you can sow tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers in a heated propagator so make sure you have seeds ready to go.
■ ■ Firm down plants lifted by frost.
■ Trim winter heathers as flowers start to go brown.
Some, for example, geranium macrorrhizum, are semi-evergreen so will maintain coverage against weeds all year.
Or try geranium Ann Folkard for summer ground cover – chartreuse green foliage topped with hundreds of deep magenta