Preparing Your Garden For Spring

There is actually a lot to be done in the garden every month of the year regardless of the weather, and perhaps more at the moment when the weather has been so up and down and certain plants are suffering for it. With Spring on the way, we show you how to get your Garden ready for some sunnier days!

Flowers & Shrubs

In your main garden you will have quite a few things to be pruning, so make sure you have the right equipment. Garden tools can suffer over the winter if they are not protected from damp and other damaging elements.

Using dull tools can quickly cause us pain or injury and a lot more work than is needed, so be sure to prep your tools or invest in some new ones.

You will need to prune: Wisteria, Clematis, Cornus, Salix, Ornamental Grasses, Fuchsia, Winter Flowering Jasmine, Mahonia, Heathers and Winter Pansies. It is important to trim any winter flowers at this stage, just be sure to hang on towards the end of the month if you can, and to follow particular instructions for plants that are more delicate or complex in their needs.

At this time of the year you will also need to move your snowdrops and any deciduous plants as long as the soil isn’t either hard, or sodden.

In terms of planting, there are a few things you can add to your garden. Cuttings of hardwood and perennials (from the year before) can be planted during this month, and lily bulbs are also suitable for planting this time of the year. This is also a good time of year to check for winter plant diseases that may have taken hold during these months.

Veggies

There is no getting away from the fact everyone’s veggie patch has suffered with this horrific winter weather of warm/ cold/ wet/ snow/ warm. If you have any surviving vegetables left – treasure them, they are truly little troopers!

So the very first thing you need to do is take the time to get rid of any rotten plants that didn’t survive the weather. Hopefully you have been doing this as you go along, and saving what you could but, some people have just given up and left their patch to succumb to the weather, and who can blame them really!

So either way, take some time to show your patch some love and cut back or dig out anything that has died.

You can also plant new rhubarb crowns and mulch any perennials, and even start sowing celeriac, leek and onion seeds (covered) if you want to. Generally your main priority should be prepping the area for spring, when you can get into the really exciting growing.

Prepare your seed beds taking all the weeds out and raking your compost, digging out any stones. You can also cover your soil with plastic sheeting if you want to keep them in good condition for spring.

Fruits

If you are lucky enough to have fruit to grow, there’s plenty for you to be doing this month. You can cut your raspberry canes down and plant further canes for summer. Apple and pear tree’s, blackcurrant, gooseberry and red currants can be trimmed, but plum, cherry and apricot trees should be left alone until the warmer months.

Fruit tree’s can be mulched (don’t go too far up the trunk). You can also start planting stone fruit trees if you want to.

Greenhouse

Your best option is to maintain what is already growing in there, and prep for spring (raking, adding compost etc) as low light and seeds don’t work too well together.

Tidying

As well as the garden plants, it is also worth paying attention to the rest of the garden. You could start tidying it, taking away leaves and other debris.

You could also start planning your spring and summer garden by taking a look around and thinking about improvements you might like to make such as painting your new shed, or starting a raised vegetable patch.