My Garden Journal 2025 February

I began my February journal by writing,”January always feels so long a month, whereas February is nice and short. Just 28 days!”

Below a set of four photos I wrote, “Winter flowering bulbs and perennials add shots of colour close to ground level. Crocosmia show off their fresh bright green shoots. Our Calamagrostis and other grasses have new shoots too.”

I then looked at the new shoots of our Sedum and shared two photos of new shoots at the base of Sedum spec. ‘Stardust’ and Sedum ‘Mojave Jewels Ruby’.

The third photo in the trio of photos above features the seed head of a large specimen Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’. About this I wrote, “The flower heads of Sedum turn to seed heads in late summer and early autumn. Looking carefully at these seed heads we can see ginger, brown, biscuit, grey, orange and pale blue.”

Over the page we find a double page spread featuring on the lefthand side scented winter flowering shrubs and on the righthand page I looked at more spring bulbs and willow catkins. I noted that, “Scented shrubs are a special feature of our February borders.”

Daphne bhuloa “Jacqueline Postill”

Hamamelis ‘Harry” Sarcococca confusa

Viburnum tinus

“The buds on our Drymis will soon open and reveal little lemon coloured and lemon scented little flowers. Its foliage and stems work together so well and look good all year round.”

Most shrubs that flower in winter are also heavily scented and this is because there are far fewer insects around to be attracted.

On the opposite page I looked at spring bulbs and willow catkins. Concerning spring bulbs, I wrote, “Our spring bulbs are giving us plenty of colour at ground level between shrubs and the emerging bright green leaves of some perennials.”

“A waterfall of cyclamen below the Acer campestre. Snowdrops flowering among ferns.“

“Eranthis hyemalis also known as Winter Aconite with emerging crocosmias.” A mix of our hellebores in our ‘Winter Border’.”

“Three of our Salix (willows) varieties now have catkins.”

Salix daphnoides S.gacilistyla ‘Melanostachys’

Salix gracilistyla ‘Melanostachys’ S.grac. ‘Mount Aso’

Turn over the page and find a watercolour sketch of a part of our garden from September 1997, which I thought may be of interest.

“While sorting out some papers we came across one of my watercolor sketches of the garden , painted in 1997.”

We also found a photo of the front door area from way back, so I tried to photograph the same view as it looks today.

Then Now

On the opposite page I mentioned a few garden jobs that we tackled this month and I wrote “Even though we have a while to go before spring arrives, we take advantage of any good days to get out in the garden or in the glasshouse.”

We have made a start cutting down grasses.

Replacing a rotten tree stake, trying to rid the drive of algae and tying in this year’s blackberry boughs.

Repairing two wren boxes.We have bought more lilies to plant next month.

Over the page I continued looking at some of our gardening tasks and began by writing, “We are enjoying our winter flowering clematis and at the same time we have to prune our Group 3 clematis.”

Cleaning up our dahlia tubers. Dahlia tubers ready to shoot.

Tidying up the succulent collection. Pruning roses on the swags.

The final page for February features yet more flowering spring bulbs. I wrote,“And yet more flowering spring bulbs adding more colour to the borders.”

Leucojum Iris reticulata

Crocus Anemone blanda (above)