Archive for May 24th, 2011
Preparing for Spring!
Spring is the perfect time to prepare your garden for the oncoming growing season and tidy up after the winter months. Make your garden as colourful as a flower shop and plant your own summer flowering plants and shrubs in borders and beds so you don’t need to buy flowers online or visit a flower shop for special occasions.
Mulch flowerbeds, dress with top soil and fertilise to nourish plants throughout the coming months. Once you have prepared the soil, add a splash of colour with some early flowering bedding plants. Pansies, violas and primroses are great for brightening up spring pots and borders and violas often last right through the summer as well.
There is still a chance of frost during March, so make sure delicate plants are protected or covered through to April. Don’t transfer bedding plants to the garden until the weather warms up and there is no likelihood of a sudden night time temperature drop.
Bulbs should be starting to appear and that’s an indicator that weeds will also begin to crop up shortly after. Remove moss from driveways and paths before it gets established and pull up weeds as soon as they break through making sure you get the root as well as the leaves.
Cut down perennials that have been left to stand over winter and prune back shrubs, roses and fruit trees before they bud. Harshly cut back shrubs such as hydrangeas for compact growth and dense flowers in the summer. Spray roses to protect from mildew and black spot once a fortnight throughout the spring and summer months.
Laurel, yew and box hedges thrive when planted in the spring so if you are planning a new hedge, this is the best time to make a start on the project. You should also plant out conifers and evergreens in the spring.
Prune and then protect fruit trees and bushes with netting to keep birds and bugs away later in the year. Seed bare patches on lawns but wait until the grass dries out completely after winter before attempting to cut it. Mow your lawn using the highest blade setting for the first cut of the season and cut on a lower setting each week as the weather improves.
Peas, carrots, broad beans and early potatoes can be sown throughout March and April. Sow drifts of summer flowering seeds so that you have a constant supply of flowers to cut from your garden instead of having to buy flowers online or visit a flower shop.
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