February 2026 in Hereford was a dull grey month though, thankfully not cold for the time of year. Just one overnight frost and a temperature high of 17 ℃ on the twenty first of the month! Not too much colour in the garden apart from some early spring bulbs (daffodils), the viburnum bush (centre stage) and the hellebores (Christmas Rose). Thank goodness for evergreen shrubs; especially the Sarcococca with its heavy sweet scent. This month's selected photo (Photo 1) was taken towards the end of the month: it features my 'mobile citizen science laboratory' in the foreground. I was either just about to set off or had just returned from my water testing duties.
Photo 1: Back Garden on the 25th February 2026
All February's daily garden photos are collated in Video 1 ...
Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden (February 2026)
Selected weather stats from the Davis Vantage 2 Pro Weather Station in our back garden are summarised in Table 1. February was much milder than January with mainly above freezing temperatures throughout the month and some welcome warmth in the final week. It rained most days and but, at least, it was 'soft rain'. Not a great month for gardening unless you like to garden in the rain!
Table 1: Summary Weather Statistics for February 2026
Daily minimum/maximum temperatures are presented graphically in Figure 1. A single night (14th) with sub-zero temperatures (-1 ℃) during the coldest part of the month followed by an uptick in daytime and nighttime temperatures at the end of the month.
Daily rainfall and sunshine hours are shown in graphic form in Figure 2. It rained on 23 of the 28 days in February which also meant the sun did not shine much either. The overcast conditions were largely responsible for the lack of overnight frosts.
I now have seven years of weather data for the month of February covering the years 2020 to 2026. Various temperature parameters for this time period are collated in Figure 3. Despite the shortness of this time series, the month of February does seem to be getting slightly warmer. Four out of the last five years, for example, have seen maximum daytime temperatures of 17 ℃ or more.
Figure 3: Time Series (2020 - 2026) of February Temperatures (Hereford City)
The 2020 - 2026 time series for rainfall, sunshine hours and maximum wind speed in the month of February are presented in Figure 4. Precipitation levels are highly variable whereas sunshine hours are relatively constant, perhaps decreasing slightly. It appears we may need to get used to dull February whether they are dry or wet.
Figure 4: Time Series (2020 - 2026) of February Rain/Sunshine/Wind (Hereford City)
The following three figures are taken from the UK Met Office's Monthly Report for February 2026. Figure 5 shows the UK mean temperature anomaly (relative to the 1991 - 2020 average); I have marked out Herefordshire on the map. According to the long-term weather data recorded at Credenhill, located just 4 miles away, February's average temperature is 5 ℃. Figure 5 shows February 2026 in Herefordshire was 1.5 ℃ to 2.5 ℃ warmer than normal while Table 1 suggests it was 3 ℃ warmer than usual. Pretty good agreement bearing in mind the Urban Heat Island (UHI) Effect of the city and the limitations of my Davis Weather Station.
Figure 5: UK Mean Temperature Anomalies (February 2026)
January 2026 rainfall for the UK, relative to the 1991 - 2020 long-term average, is reproduced in Figure 6. Central England, including Herefordshire, and much of the south coast of England had above average rainfall in January 2026 (Figure 6). Historical data from the nearby Credenhill Weather Station indicates an expected rainfall of 51 mm for February. This compares with the 79 mm recorded by my weather station (Table 1); i.e. 160% above normal. Figure 6 shows that much of Hereford received double the expected rainfall in February with some parts of the county 'only' receiving 150 -200 % of the long-term average. Our back garden seems to fall into the latter category.
Figure 6: Relative UK Rainfall (February 2026)
Figure 7 shows the relative sunshine hours in the UK for February 2026. Apart from the Western Isles, the rest of the UK suffered from sunshine deprivation in February. For Central England/Midlands, the long-term average for sunshine hours in February is 76 hours. The 60 sunshine hours recorded on my Davis Weather Station (Table 1) would, therefore, be around 75% of the expected amount. The Met Office data (Figure 7) was a little more pessimistic at between 50 - 70 % of normal but still reasonably close.
Figure 7: Relative UK Sunshine Hours (February 2026)
Jobs in the Garden
Another quiet month with the usual hot composting - a challenge due to a shortage of 'green' material this time of year
Still using last year's onion crop and harvesting celeriac & spinach
Prune the grapevines
Mulch fruit garden with homemade soil conditioner (aka compost)
Flora & Fauna in the Garden
Blackbird (x1)
Blue Tit (x3)
Great Tit (x1)
House Sparrow (x20)
Robin (x1)
Starling (x6)
Wood Pigeon (x5)
And, finally, a few photos from the garden highlighting spring bulb colour ...
Photo 2: Early Garden Daffodil (12th February 2026)
Photo 3: Crocuses in the Raised Bed (16th February 2026)
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