How to prepare your garden for Spring

Each year Spring brings a fresh sense of promise to your home and garden, so how do you best prepare to make the most out of the exciting months ahead?

Organise Shed and Service Tools

When was the last time you checked on your tools? Before you begin any work outside, ensure that your kit is well stocked, newly sharpened and freshly oiled. Sounds like a demanding task but your future-self will thank you greatly! The hardest bit is getting started…

Think of it this way, your tools maintain your plants, so keeping them clean and well-oiled will not only help to prevent the spread of diseases but also make the jobs easier. Also, preserving your garden tools will save money in the long run and allow you to take on more rewarding tasks like creating your own tomato cages or hanging baskets.

Spring Clean your Garden (and Greenhouse)

Spring cleaning time… and we’re not talking about bringing out the polish and duster.

Winter elements can be harsh on your garden, dead leaves, broken branches and other debris are just a handful of items that can invade your flower beds and borders. You should treat your garden spring clean just like your home. Removing anything that isn’t required, until you are left with just the soil. This includes pulling weeds, raking fresh mulch and removing dead organic matter. Ensure your job is thorough by tendering to every nook and cranny.

If you have any trees and brushes, you should also prep these by pruning them and trimming off any broken or dead branches. This offers the perfect time to shape your tree!

Additionally, while you’re spring cleaning your garden you should take the same approach to your greenhouse. Use our simple checklist below to ensure you have covered everything:

• Wash the outside with detergent/disinfectant – this removes algae, moss and grime
• Wash the inside of the glass – this will allow more light in and also remove potential homes for diseases and pests
• Sweep the floor and benches to remove debris
• Seed your trays
• Wash the plant pots
• Ventilate your greenhouse for 2-3 days, allowing it to dry out thoroughly
• Replace any broken parts of your glass or vents

Now your greenhouse is as good as new and ready for the upcoming Spring and Summer!

Plan your Dream Garden, in advance!

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail…

You can tick this task off in Winter when the weather is glum outside. However, we like to look at this job as our ‘reward’ for the hard preparation we’ve accomplished. Either way, we’ve always found speaking to local experts achieves the best results when it comes to which plants will flourish in your garden.

Planning how you present your garden through the Spring and Summer months throws up exciting opportunities to create new flower beds and borders, whilst also renovating your current ones. Be sure to plan thoroughly though so you don’t over order… we appreciate it’s easy to become carried away with the desire to have it all!

Ask yourself, which is the best spot for certain plants, do any plants require particular soil conditions? Where offers the most sun light?

Try not to overcrowd areas with taller and larger plants that can be detrimental to smaller plants. We find arranging by height usually works best.

Prep the areas for planting

As we mentioned at the start of this blog, tendering to your garden beds and borders by clearing weeds and debris will have made this next task a lot more enjoyable. Hopefully you have also cleaned and serviced your tools… like we promised, your future-self will now be thanking you!

Once the final frost has lifted, the soil becomes workable which allows you to start the final prep before planting. Begin by loosening up the soil and mixing in any well composted matter, for best results we advise working to a depth of up to 15 inches.

Learn more about your garden by using a soil test to reveal the pH and nutrient levels of your areas. Using these results, you’ll be able to discover the most effective materials to add to your soil which improves the final quality.

Finally, rake the soil level and lightly water it. This helps it to settle and release air pockets, ensuring it’s in prime condition for planting.

Fix Fences

Fixing fences, gates and trellis is a task that we would typically advise to tackle in the Winter. However, like we’ve seen this year, storms can hit us (and your fences) right through Autumn and Spring. Never-the-less, check for weather damage and decay well in advance of planting. Replacing any broken structures now allows you to attend to your gardening more efficiently during the Spring and Summer seasons.

Furthermore, once your fence has been restored to its original upstanding position, and all damaged segments have been replaced you can dig out your paint brush to provide a fresh new look. Prior to painting, we advise you intensely wash down your fence panels and gates to remove any moss, mildew, grime and dirt.

Maintain your upkeep

Once your planting is complete, assure that all your hard work isn’t undone with regular upkeep throughout the whole season. During establishment, watering your plants on a frequent basis is vital for strong growth. For high end results, feed your growing plants with complete liquid fertiliser every month and when you notice flower buds forming, replace this for the specific fertiliser required.

Another useful tip, at the time of your flowers blooming, it’s good practice to deadhead which allows the promotion of more flowers, species depending. Any drooping or fading flowers should be removed from the healthy green stem.

Reap rewards

Now you can sit back, relax and watch your garden flourish as we quickly work our way through Spring and enter the Summer months.

If you’re still craving some DIY and gardening then this poses as a great time to create a compost area in your garden. Use spare wood to build your own or purchase a ready-made compost bin from your local garden centre. A compost area provides the ideal place to put all your organic waste (see a comprehensive list below) and the benefits it provides to your plants once it has broken down are endless. Ensure that you are turning this mix on a monthly basis to help aerate.

What should I put in my compost bin?

• Wood prunings
• Paper prunings
• Grass clippings
• Vegetable peelings
• Fruit waste
• Teabags

We’ll have much more useful tips and blogs throughout the year to keep you occupied. So if there is anything in-particular you’re interested to hear about please let us know!