February in a Zone 8 Garden

A zone 8 garden is a wondrous thing in February.  There is still so much color and life in winter in a mild climate garden.  Take a walk down memory lane with me and check out this post from February 2017….

Disclaimer: when you shop through my affiliate links I earn a small commission which helps me create more content, at no additional cost to you! Thank you so much for your support!

Seedlings

Even though it is technically still winter, there is plenty of gardening going on at The Fancy Garden! First up is my forest of sweet pea seedlings under a grow light in my spare bedroom. This photo is a great example of the lower stem branching that you will get when you pinch out the top of the plant. This makes for a sturdier and bushier plant. I purchased the sweet pea seeds from www.floretflowers.com, a veritable mecca of drool-worthy flowers.   They still have a few varieties left in their online shop.  I have had huge success sprouting the seeds first in moist paper towels and then moving them into potting mix. Check out that post HERE!   

Also growing indoors under lights are these adorable Chinese Forget-Me-Nots, another treasure from Floret Flowers. I can’t wait to see the cheery blue flowers in a couple of months.

Daffodils

Moving outdoors, my Tete-a-Tete miniature daffodils that I planted in December are sprouting in their 4-inch pots. I wanted to see how well they grow in small pots as I may potentially use them in upcoming container garden projects.

Johnny Jump Ups

The pansies that I planted from seed last fall are looking gorgeous. I never realized how easy it is to grow pansies from seed until I tried it! I also planted some Johnny Jump Ups from seed and I love seeing their cute faces on a drizzly day.

Scabiosa

The scabiosa has overwintered very nicely and has been almost constantly in bloom. I have some other colors growing in the seedling room that I am very excited about.

Ornamental Kale

My ornamental kale still looks gorgeous! They are planted in small 4 and 6 inch pots so I move them to wherever some extra color is needed, a great benefit of container gardening. They are about a foot tall, so place shorter plants in front to hide the long stems (or cut them for your floral arrangements!)

Anemone Sprouts

I am getting so excited about my anemone sprouts! They are looking healthy and strong! I lost a couple of sprouts to hungry birds but a quick cover of bird net stopped that problem. The bamboo stake in the photo helps lift the bird net off the leaves. Hoping to see some flower buds soon!

Pruning Roses

Lastly, I spent three days last weekend pruning my container rose collection.  Since my rose container garden has grown to over 30 plants, (with more on the way!), it was quite a lot of work!  The key things I did were remove old leaves because they can harbor disease and insects, prune out dead and diseased wood, and prune out crossing and spindly branches in the middle.  I love the look after the pruning is done because my eyes don’t see lifeless branches, they see potential and a fresh start! 

Thanks for stopping by!! Don’t forget now is the time to get your cool season seeds for your cut flower garden planted indoors! Check out my post on starting sweet pea seeds HERE! I have many varieties that I am excited to share in the upcoming months! Also, join me on Instagram for a daily dose of flower magic!!

Happy gardening!

Heather