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garden » calendar LIGHTEN UP When light levels start to increase, direct-sow greens such as arugula. Be on the lookout for mason bees! Dandelions are a wonder- ful source of pollen and nectar, so don't overweed. The hardworking mason bees are needed to pollinate our fruit trees, as other bees continue to struggle with environmental problems. You can buy special condos or houses for mason bees to invite them to move into your garden. Other early-spring faves of pollinators include crocus, tulips, leopard's bane, rhododendron and heather. Though we are itching to plant something, it's probably too early. Garden soil needs to be somewhat dried out, and not clumped in muddy clods. When the time is right, volunteer seedlings of kale, arugula and mache will abound (weeds, too), and chives will poke up. If it's been raining heavily or soil looks/feels waterlogged, hold your horses. Instead, seed lettuce in wide, low pots, and place in a cool greenhouse, or sow in a cold frame. Weeds pick up speed as light levels increase – nip them in the bud. When soil does lighten up – and this happens faster in raised beds – direct-sow snow peas, arugula, mache, Asian greens, broad beans and broccoli raab. Peas have a better chance in cold soil with purchased inoculant, which encourages earlier microbial activity. Fall-planted garlic will emerge soon, or has already. Topdress lightly with organic material like BEAUTEOUS BULBS Summer flowering bulbs, like the exotic Tigridia, will soon be available. and grapes. Most are semi-dormant when brought into garden centres in early spring and they'll be fine going in now. In the Garden TEXT SHARON HANNA The big question this time of year is… What's the best way to remember the previous year in my garden – what worked and what didn't? Get yourself a garden diary and record the date of the first snowdrop or crocus, first deep inhalation of a sweet pea, last frost. By keeping notes, you can see just when your garden lacked pizzazz. You might then want to consider what many garden designers use – prolonged bloomers like Nepeta 'Walker's Low', Geranium 'Rozanne', Aster frikartii 'Monch', Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' and Gaura. Sweet-scented Erysimum 'Bowles Mauve' flowers more than half the year, attracting beneficials. Sedum 'Matrona' and 'Autumn Joy' are showy summer through fall, and winter if you leave seedheads for chickadees. Great roses are red flower carpet and Rosa mutabilis; plant Rosa glauca for foliage. compost, manure or Sea Soil – especially on the coast, where the constant winter rains flush nutrients from the root zone. A feed of fish and/or kelp fertilizer in liquid form is appreciated. Plant small fruits like raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries Wait until March to start tomatoes, unless you have a heated greenhouse. My favourites yield tomatoes in spite of iffy summers include: 'Green Grape', 'Sungold F1' and 'Black Cherry'. Plus, 'Early Girl' is reliable and offers real tomatoey tartness. 78 | BC HOME & GARDEN February 2013 p78-79 Garden Calendar.indd 78 13-01-23 11:38 AM