Prepare Your Garden for Spring

Winter is generally a quiet time when it comes to gardening, but before you know it springs will be upon us and you’ll be caught up in the frenzy of seed sowing, fertilizing and nurturing your garden back to life.

Don’t get your garden get left behind. Follow our tips and prepare for the gardening season.

Weather

Weather in spring can vary greatly from year to year in the UK. While last spring was one the coldest for more than 50 years, back in 2011 temperatures hit 27 degrees, the hottest since records began.

It’s likely that winter snow and frost has left behind soggy, messy chaos in your garden, but with the right care, it can be encouraged to bloom and grow.

Perfect tasks for a wet and windy day in early spring include planting summer flowering bulbs such as lilies.

Equipment

Dig out garden tools from the back of the shed and give them a clean and a sharpen. Caring for your garden tools not only helps preserve them, it saves you money in the long run and helps prevent the spread of disease. Dirty secateurs may introduce bacteria and fungi to fresh pruning wounds. Sharpening your tools will also improve their performance; they’ll be easier to work with and will give cleaner pruning cuts.

Plants

Once the soil is free of snow and ice crystals you can start planting ready for spring. Perfect plants for the late winter-early spring season include pansies, crocus, and camellias.

If you grow veg in your garden, common early spring crops include peas, spinach, lettuces and leeks

Wildlife

Perhaps the most important job this month is to ensure that birds are well catered for. The very end of the winter is the time when many species are at their most vulnerable, yet this is when they must find the energy to seek out their territories to prepare for breeding.

Lawn

A good place to start with your lawn is to give it a good rake to remove dead growth and winter debris.

While many people turn to moss killer, fertiliser and even laying new turf to cover damage in spring, artificial grass is a much more practical solution. A simple brush is all it takes to keep a synthetic garden looking green and healthy and you can spend all the time you save maintaining other parts of your garden.