February ’25 is projected to be overall cold and dry. The 1st of February was cold, bright and sunny. The February full moon was overcast and temperatures remain around 0°C. Some places here in Germany were blessed with snow, while we are stuck in a gray cold and misty mud weather. The end of the month will get warmer and sunnier but may also see some rain.
A LONG WINTER IS OVERALL GOOD FOR NATURE IN THE GARDEN!
Garden activities in February: planning the garden year, starting a garden diary and calendar, noting down favorable days, pre-culturing warmth loving plants indoors, sowing cold-germinators in a cold frame outdoors, pruning vine, fruit trees and hedges, taking willow cuttings for fences and hedges
If you are tending a natural garden, then less is always more. In February the garden is best left alone for at least another month. February is still a good time for researching the overwintering places of various insects, ie in leaf axils or molehills, and observing the activities of overwintering birds. Owls may start breeding now. Note, once an animals is disturbed during hibernation it may not be able to return to hibernation state and dies of cold and starvation. This applies especially to dormice that overwinter in bird nest boxes. Should I clean nest boxes in winter? The answer is hence: NO!
Helping bumblebee queens: since bumblebee queens overwinter, their hiding places between old leaves or inside prior mice holes, should be left undisturbed, even if they start flying earlier than other insects. If temperatures rise above 6°C they get active and may search for food and a nesting place for their new colony. Early blooms, like snowdrops, crocuses, cornel cherry, lenten roses etc. provide important nectar and pollen resources.
February garden flowers: this year my lenten roses flower in mid February, later than during previous years, since temperatures have been constantly low. Snowdrops peaked out right on February 1st but remain closed for the most time. The sweet scent of witch hazel blossoms is intense in the cold February air. Daisies keep flowering. Cornel cherry started blossoming at the end of the month, so do winterling and crocuses. Sweet violets did not show up yet.
*This calendar and some of the projections given here are created with the help of constellation research by Maria Thun and her son Matthias K. Thun.
February 24, 2025
Posted In: Garden
Tags: garden, calendar, lunar garden, biodynamic gardening, maria thun, early spring flowers, nature garden, gardening
