Love in full bloom

It’s no surprise that one of the most famous love poems starts with ‘Roses are red, violets are blue’. Flowers and plants have long been associated with romance and are still one of the most popular gifts to show love and affection. With this in mind, we think it’s only right to return the love and give your garden some special care this February.

Cut with care

Heavy pruning is reserved for the cooler months, but a little bit of light pruning is needed in summer to tidy up flowering and other plants. This makes way for healthy growth and new buds. Prune only to remove faded blooms and damaged leaves.

Remove faded blooms from flowering plants by cutting off the flower stem below the dried-out bloom but just above the first set of healthy leaves. This practice is known as deadheading and is important to ensure healthy growth in flowers. The GARDENA Garden Secateurs Expertcut has particularly sharp stainless steel blades well suited for light and surgical pruning. The blades deliver a precise and clean cut every time.

Now is also a good time to shape up your shrubs. Sculpt the outer growth to improve the shape and thin out the inner growth so that light and air can circulate within the shrub. The GARDENA Battery Grass and Shrub Shears make this job a breeze with its ergonomic handle that can be bent to adapt to the natural position of the hand. The quality blades also assist you to achieve perfect cuts.

Pamper your plants

Add a general fertiliser to the garden, including potted and hanging plants, to promote healthy plant growth. Consider using organic fertilisers such as compost which provides essential nutrients and improves the soil structure. Liquid Fertilisers offer as much if not more nutrients that easily seeps to the plant roots. Dispensing liquid fertiliser can be easily achieved using the GARDENA Pump and Pressure Sprayers. They come in various sizes to accommodate everything from small, easy flower beds to large complex gardens.

Sow love

February is the perfect time to plant daisies, violas, cosmos and other summer-loving bulbs that will add a burst of colour to your garden. The GARDENA Bulb Planter effortlessly does the job with a scale and automatic release that make it easy to plant your bulbs at the correct depth. 

Shower your garden with love

In many regions of our country, February is the hottest month of the year. Keeping your plants happily hydrated can be a challenge whilst maintaining sustainable water use. Here’s a few tips to keep in mind.

1. Watering thoroughly once or twice a week is better than watering often with a little water. Thorough watering allows deeper penetration into the soil, ensuring that the water reaches the roots and that the soil retains water longer.
2. Prioritise seedlings or cuttings that have recently been planted.
3. Water early in the morning or evening to avoid evaporation during the hottest times of the day.
4. Always water around the plant and not just at the root point to ensure even root growth and better nutrient absorption.

Here are three of GARDEAN’s top watering solutions:

The GARDENA Comfort ecoPulse™ Cleaning Nozzle has multi-function options that can be used for cleaning and irrigation. The nozzle is fitted with an adjustable head with three spray patterns. This allows you to vary the spray as needed, reducing water use by up to 40% when compared to other standard products.

The GARDENA Water Control Select is an automatic watering system that connects directly to the tap and then to your GARDENA hose connected to an above-ground sprinkler, a Micro-Drip irrigation system or an underground sprinkler system. Three different watering schedules can be set on the detachable control panel. The product is equipped with a GARDENA Soil Moisture Sensor. The Sensor detects when the soil is still damp and alerts the Water Control Select to skip the next watering cycle. This ensures that watering only takes place when necessary.

With just a few simple, thoughtful actions you can pour a whole lot of care into your garden. Put your heart into it. Your plants will love you for it.