You should by now be seeing signs of spring happening in your garden and surrounding areas.  Snowdrops, crocus, and hyacinths are all putting on a good show, while tulips, fritillaries, iris and daffodils are waiting patiently in the wings to add that much needed colour we are all craving.  Winter is almost over and with that the work now begins in preparing for the coming seasons.  Don’t put your woolly hat away just yet, while February can bring a hint of warmth, hard frosts are still very much present and can catch us keen gardeners out.  Caution is key and a roll of fleece needs to be on hand until April.

Once the early flowering bulbs have died back, it is now time to divide clumps and redistribute them throughout the garden or pot them up as thoughtful gifts for friends and neighbours.  Evergreen shrubs can be pruned, ornamental grasses cut back and climbers trimmed and tied in ready for the new season.  Seeing the bare bones of your garden can be exciting and help you plan for new arrivals, along with moving plants that might benefit from a different location.  Use this time wisely because it is sure to pay dividends later in the year. 

For those of you with greenhouses or space to nurture plug plants, now is the time to visit Twin Locks and stock up with all your favourites.  We continue to receive new stock each week, all of which is highly popular with our regular customers, don’t leave it too late to stop by and purchase what you need for the coming months.  We still have onion sets, potatoes and other vegetables in stock ready for chitting and planting once the weather is stable enough.  If planting from seed we offer an extensive range of trays, both compostable and plastic to get you going.  We partner with Unwin’s for their high quality range of seeds, there are the tried and tested favourites along with other varieties that you might be less familiar with.  In the coming weeks more established annuals and vegetables will arrive, a great quick win if you need to plant out immediately.  Whatever your preference we have your options covered.

Our team experiment of growing a vegetable crop in a super small space is still taking shape, potatoes have begun to chit and after much discussion we will plant seeds directly into buckets once the weather is warm enough.  We figure that if we can successfully enjoy growing a micro crop then you can too!  Give it a go, come in and chat to us and we can help you get going with your own vegetable patch.

Pond life is not to be forgotten, life below the surface is buzzing, and in the coming weeks we will slowly begin to stock aquatic plants that will help nature along.  Birds are also not to be forgotten, they still need a good feed especially with nesting season upon us.  We stock bird feeders and bird food to help our garden friends stay healthy.