When the days get longer and the soil starts to warm up, it's time to prepare your garden for spring. A few weekends of work now, weeding, lawn care, pruning and a pond clean, set the garden up for the whole season. Here are seven jobs to tackle, with practical tips for each.
1. Remove weeds
Weeds compete with your plants for water, light and nutrients, so start early in spring before they set seed. Pull them by hand, making sure you get the roots, especially of perennial weeds like dandelions and docks. A hoe works well on annual weeds in beds: hoe on a dry day so the uprooted weeds dry out and die. A layer of mulch on bare soil afterwards helps keep new weeds down.
2. Lawn care
Your lawn needs some attention after winter. Once the grass starts growing and the ground isn't waterlogged:
• Rake out moss and dead grass (scarifying), ideally in mid to late spring when the grass can recover.
• Mow for the first time on a high setting and lower it gradually.
• Overseed bare or thin patches.
• Feed the lawn with a spring fertiliser.
3. Pond maintenance
Over autumn and winter, leaves and twigs collect in the pond and rot, which feeds algae. Scoop out debris, cut back dead plant growth and clean the pump and filter before switching them back on. If you have fish, avoid draining or changing too much water at once.
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4. Pruning plants
Pruning at the right time helps plants flower and grow well, but every plant has its own timing. Shrubs that flower on new growth, such as many roses and buddleia, are usually pruned in early spring. Spring-flowering shrubs, like forsythia, are pruned just after flowering, otherwise you cut off this year's flowers.
Walk around the garden, note what you have, and look up when and how each plant should be pruned. Write it down in a simple plan you can reuse every year. Use clean, sharp tools, and leave large trees or work at height to a professional.
5. Remove green algae and moss
Paths, patios, fences and garden furniture often turn green over winter. Ways to tackle it:
- A stiff brush and soapy water for small areas.
- A specialist green algae or patio cleaner, used according to the instructions.
- Diluted cleaning vinegar on wooden furniture and fences. Test on a small area first.
- A pressure washer on paving. Use a lower setting on soft stone, wood and jointing sand, and refill joints afterwards if needed.
Avoid bleach: it's harmful to plants, soil life and the environment, and can damage surfaces.
6. A colourful palette of flowers
Green plants are lovely, but spring flowers bring the garden to life.
Tulips, daffodils, crocuses and violas are classic spring flowers that suit almost any garden, and they come in plenty of colours. Bulbs are best planted in autumn, but if you missed that, garden centres sell spring flowers already in bloom in pots.
Violas are tough and can often go outside early in the year, as they tolerate quite a bit of cold.
7. The ideal garden furniture & patio cover
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