Southern Gardening Potpourri for February

It certainly appears that this February may not be the harbinger of spring, but a continuation of January cold. There are a couple of bright spots this month we can celebrate. On February 14th, Valentines Day, and on February, 17th Mardi Gras. And as they say in New Orleans," laissez les bons temps rouler" --let the good times roll. So get out the purple, green and gold, and have a great time. Valentine's Day should bring to mind the power of Love. Love sent out to friends, family, and basically everyone will make our world a better place.

Planting for February

There are many spring blooming bulbs that can still be planted this month because it has been so cold. They may be late bloomers, but that is ok. Daffodils, all varieties, will do well when planted now. In the South, we do not need to plant bulbs deep in the ground since our ground does not freeze. The quickest and easiest procedure is to place the bulbs on top of the soil, and then cover with about an inch of soil. If you are naturalizing them, dig out the grass, place bulbs on top of soil and then cover with dirt. If you had planned ahead for the naturalizing of these bulbs, you would have sprayed a herbicide to kill the grass sometime in October or November when temperatures were above 60 degrees. As I always advocate, making plans in advance saves time. I would not put out bone meal with the bulbs at this time as it attracts squirrels and frisky dogs. It is also best to camouflage these efforts with mulch such as leaves. or pine straw.

An herb which can be planted any time of the year and lives indefinitely, is chives. This is an all weather plant, withstanding the heat and humidity of our summers and thriving in the freezing temperatures of our winters. I grow it mainly for culinary purposes. They have a very mild delicate onion-like flavor and for those who cannot eat onions, they make a wonderful substitute. These make wonderful pass along plants.

My favorite flower for winter to spring bloom is dianthus which can be called a workhorse and can be planted in February. This perennial is slightly fragrant, drops its dead heads, and can withstand freezing weather. They are known for a vast array of color and some blooms are multi-colored. The blooms resemble tiny carnations with a pleasant fresh scent. I noticed many years ago that as I am weeding around the pansies, dusty miller and snapdragons, there are no weeds among the dianthus.

PLANT OF THE MONTH-FLOWERING QUINCE

(Chaenomeles speciosa)

We have finally featured a plant-shrub for which every brown thumb can find success. Flowering Quince is totally indestructible as it requires little care, tolerates poor soil, does well in sun or shade, withstands extremes in temperature,and even thrives with neglect. It makes a good cut flower, easy to propagate and also has culinary uses. Blooming around groundhog day, what a beautiful testament to spring than to have several Flowering Quince sporting fusca white and red blooms.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY, HAPPY MARDI GRAS, AND GOOD GARDENING.