On your checklist this month: prune woody shrubs, feed your feathered friends and consider adding camellias to your plot.
by Helen Yoest | photograph by Juli Leonard
Our shadows are getting smaller as we welcome February. On a sunny day, I’ll head to my garden to enjoy my display of camellias, including my new Governor Mouton variety, which blooms in variegated white and red. I notice the male cardinals in their regal red and bluebirds looking for the perfect nesting site. It’s calming —but there is still work to do.
Plant Camellias
Itching to add color to a monochromatic winter landscape? Camellias offer green leaves and white, pink or red blooms through April, and they can still be planted this month. Bonus: camellias can thrive in full sun or partial shade and neutral to acidic clay or sandy soil; they are also both slightly drought- and frost-tolerant, so they’re an easy, versatile plant for our area.
Feed the Birds
Put out supplemental bird feeders now, when food is scarcest, to fill your avian visitors’ bellies. For bluebirds, serve mealworms inside dome feeders, which will keep water out. Robins are ground feeders, so toss seeds (sunflower seeds are a favorite) around shrubs, away from foot traffic. Goldfinches enjoy eating nyjer/thistle seed upright out of tube-style feeders. Try to place your feeders outside a window, so you can enjoy the birds from a comfy chair.
Prune Shrubs and Trees
Now is the time to cut back woody trees or shrubs like tea olives, Japanese maples or fruit trees. Remove dead limbs, cross branches or diseased leaves with sharp loppers. For cross branches, cut above the buds that face out to encourage good form and new growth come spring.
This article originally appeared in the February 2025 issue of WALTER magazine.