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 Ms.Promila Chaturvedi is a freelance landscape designer whose organization "Gardens India" undertakes a number of projects in landscaping and gardening.
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February is month of our short lived spring in our country. During this month of spring red, orange, pink, yellow, blue and white flowers take charge of Semal -Bombax malabaricum
, Pink Kachnar- Bauhinia variegata, Ashok or Saraca indica ( picture on left) and of prune trees like peach and plums.
Mustered fields are full of aroma and colour.
The gardens are full of various shades of red, pink, orange, yellow, violet, blue and white annuals and bulbous plants.
Often it is said that during this month there is very little work in the garden.
But to keep a garden in good shape one is always busy.
Perennial Chrysanthemums' suckers should be removed in this month. Root pieces should be lined out under the shade in a corner or be planted in 4inch pots; keep varieties separately.
Bela shrubs need pruning this time of the year.
Garden pests also would not let you sit idle. They will attack fruit trees, shrubs annuals and perennials. Aphids (see picture on right) attack on Chrysanthemums, Citrus and other fruit trees, annuals specifically which grow in shades
like Cinerarias. The green fly also attacks certain plants during this period like cabbage and cauliflower. In a garden its favourites are wallflowers, erysimums and stocks. The advance of attack usually goes unnoticed till plants start showing distress. These
insects serve as vector to bacterial infection. The gardener is always busy during this month fighting with the aphids and greenfly.