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Buy seeds. Whether you choose to shop the seed catalogues or peruse the seed racks at your local garden centre, be sure to do it soon.
First, you are only going to get busier as the gardening season approaches and this job does not get easier when you are time-stressed.
Secondly, the selection is at its best. Don't be disappointed.
Be patient and resist the urge to sow seeds too early. Petunias, geraniums, pansies and impatiens can to be started now in order to have them sized up for planting out come spring. We will talk more about seed starting next month.
Feed the birds. Use a quality seed mix so that it does not get wasted and you attract quality birds.
Buy some flowers. Bring some spring-time colour and fragrance inside your home with a pot full of flowering bulbs. Tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinths. You name it.
They are not expensive, and they pay dividends as they lift your spirits and brighten any room.
Buy some more flowers. Flowers = Valentines day. They are beautiful, fleeting, fragrant and inspiring. Just like love. Buy your sweetheart, and your other loved ones, some flowers.
Buy new dahlia bulbs. They will arrive at your local garden retailer any day soon and you should get them while the selection is at its best. Plant in one-gallon sized containers in March.
Build a cold frame to get a jump on spring. We encourage resourcefulness in the design process - scrap lumber and an old window on hinges should suffice.
Start tuberous begonias. In shallow growing trays, lay down about 2 cm of peat moss. 'Screw' the tubers into the peat with a gentle twist, concave side up. Cover the bulbs with peat but just barely. Water and keep in a warm place and put a transparent top on the tray. A sunny window works and so does the top of the refrigerator which radiates heat from the back.
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