How about that rain? We had three inches at our house; many people in Blanco received more. The rain is very good for the Spring wildflowers. I’m expecting a beautiful flower show this year. When your flowers begin to sprout, don’t neglect to thin them for correct spacing. Then you may move them to another area or place the extras in pots or give them away to friends.

We have removed about one-half of the dead and frozen plants from the downtown area. We will be cutting back many of the perennials in the next few weeks. It could still be too early to cut back the shrubs too short. We can still have a hard freeze. We normally have our worst weather in February. The plants could put on new growth, have a freeze and damage the plants.

Transplant pansy, snapdragon, larkspur, dianthus, flowering cabbage and kale, sweet alyssum, and cyclamen. Seed sweet peas and nasturtium. You still have time to seed larkspur, spinach, collards, turnip greens, lettuce, and snap peas. Some gardeners suggest planting potatoes on Lincoln’s birthday, or at least the middle of the month. The seedlings and transplants will need protection from the freezing and damaging weather. Keep row cover, sheets, or buckets nearby to cover the tender plants.

February is the month to prune fruit trees, ornamentals, and roses, except early blooming ornamentals such as redbud trees, forsythia, bridal veil, Indian hawthorne, Mt. Laurel, and climbing roses and roses that only bloom one time in the Spring. Knockout roses don’t need to be trimmed at all, except to remove dead wood and to keep their size contained. All of these may be trimmed when they have finished their Spring blooming. At this time, trim, fertilize, and mulch.