After all the hustle and bustle of Christmas followed by the peace and calm of January, February is when things start to get busy in the garden. I’ve got to be honest, I am more of a fair weather gardener but I will get outside once the days get a bit longer.

 

Keep feeding your garden birds.  February can be bitterly cold so you must continue to top up your bird feeders.  Although as I write this in early January, it is freezing cold and has been for a week or so, with snow and hard frost on the ground! I use pure sunflower hearts which are high in protein and all the little birds seem to love them.  Remember to defrost your bird bath.  They still need to have water available and the blackbirds still enjoy a good wash and splash around whatever the weather.

 

Avoid walking on your lawn if it is snowy or frosty.  This is because the frozen blades of grass become brittle and will snap when trodden on and it will take longer to recover in the Spring.

 

Remove most if not all of the leaves from Hellebore plants.  It won’t harm the plant and will make the display of winter rose look extra lovely.  They really are a joy so early in the year.

 

If you are desperate to sow something at this early point in the year, my advice would be to sow some sweet and/or chilli pepper seeds.  They need a long growing season to get established and produce their fruit.  You could try putting your sowings on a warm, sunny windowsill but even better would be to use a heated propagator.  Broad beans would also be great to sow now.  Again I would start them off in cells in the greenhouse and then start acclimatising them to the outside under cloches, they are hardy things and provided you introduce them to the outside elements slowly, they should be fine.  I absolutely adore broad beans and fresh from the garden, they cannot be beaten.

 

Happy gardening in 2026

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Fiona Davies