What's Going on in the Garden this Month

What's Happening in our New Forest Hotel Garden this February

After a frosty spell back in January the current warmth we’re experiencing is welcomed by our hotel gardeners, and as we make our way into February there are plenty of signs that spring is just around the corner. 

Although lots of plants are dormant at this time of year, our hotel garden provides plenty of interest; 

You’ll find yourself drawn from one direction to the next by the intoxicating scents of mahonia, winter honeysuckle and wintersweet. Not only are these highly fragranced flowers a delight for us to smell but they also provide vital nectar and pollen for bumblebees. 

Splashes of colour will catch your eye from the flowers of crocus, daffodils, snowdrops, primroses, muscari and camellias. 

As nesting season is now underway, the garden birds are busy darting from tree to tree, eating berries and collecting twigs. They can be heard singing their songs, with our resident robins currently making sure they’re heard the most. It’s important to keep feeding your garden birds whilst also leaving twigs and branches on the ground for them to collect for nest building. 

Our gardeners are busy making plans and preparations for the year ahead. Here’s a list of what they will be up to over the coming weeks as we head towards spring:

• De-weeding and digging over the vegetable patch before adding organic matter to improve soil conditions.

• Pruning and feeding roses 

• Cutting back winter flowering shrubs such as winter jasmine and mahonia to promote next years flowers whilst keeping the plants compact 

• Sowing early seeds such as chillis, cosmos and kale. Chillis need heat to germinate whilst cosmos need light to germinate. If you’re considering sowing some seeds at this time of year it’s always a good idea to check what conditions are needed for successful germination 

• Dividing large clumps of herbaceous perennials and replanting them to increase the amount of plants we have whilst improving the overall quality and health of the plants

• Cutting back ornamental grasses once signs of new growth appears

• Organising last years seed packs and checking the quality of them before buying more for this year. 

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