Spring

Forsythia in spring

‘Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn’ Lewis Grizzard.

Spring is the time when everything begins to happen. Spring bulbs such as daffodils have started to appear along with the shoots of early perennial plants. The garden finally awakes from slumber.

March – Time to dust off the wellies and get stuck in.

  • Prepare seed beds by adding good compost and raking over until you get a fine tilth. Cover the bed with black plastic to help warm the soil up in anticipation of sowing seeds. This best done in early spring.

  • Sow spring seeds in trays in the house on a sunny windowsill or in a green house. Not sown seeds before? here how to – https://www.rhs.org.uk/propagation/sowing-seed-outdoors

  • Protect new shoots of spring flowering bulbs, perennials and shrubs from slugs

  • Lay turf or use seed to repair patches in lawns.

  • Prune your Roses when the last frost has passed. Remember to remove any dead or diseased stems as well as crossing stems. Give them, and your other flowering shrubs, a feed with “Toprose”.

April – The days are slightly warmer, and the grass will begin to grow.

Late spring Tulips

Tulips

 

  • Start mowing the lawn regularly and apply a lawn weed and feed.

  • Plant new roses, trees, shrubs, and perennials. Do not forget to feed them with a general-purpose fertiliser.

  • Prick out half-hardy annual seedlings or pot them up as necessary.

  • Plant summer flowering bulbs such as Lilies, Begonias, and Dahlias.

  • Mothers’ Day is March 26th. Why not buy the one you love a spring – flowering Camellia or a basket of Violas from The Secret Garden.

  • Freshen up pots, window boxes and hanging baskets with spring bedding plants such as Daffodils, Primroses, and Violas.

May – Warmer days are ideal for getting the garden ready for summer.

  • After the last frost, plant out half-hardy annuals in containers and outdoor beds. https://www.thesecretgardencentre.co.uk/about-us/seasonal-advice/bedding-plants-2/

  • Take cuttings from new growth of shrubs and perennials.

  • Cut back spring flowering bulbs after the foliage has faded to yellow / brown.

  • Plant shrubs such as lilacs or Hydrangeas.

  • Clean the Patio or decking ready for summer.

  • Check for nesting birds before pruning hedge.