But don’t be tempted to do anything too soon. We don’t want to lose plants that aren’t hardy by sending them out in the cold! Or disturb the little critters that are beneficial to our soil by clearing their habitat too early.
So here are your Top Five things to do to prepare your garden for Spring!
1. Move deciduous shrubs. Before the ground starts warming up and they spring into growth, now is the perfect time to grab a couple of forks and a spade and dig up those shrubs that are too big for a particular area, and move them to somewhere more suitable. Make sure you take as much of the root ball as possible so you minimise damage, and don’t forget to water them in well once they’re in their new position. Yeah no-one said it would be easy work to prepare your garden for spring.
2. Clean your greenhouse. You’ll be needing somewhere for all those trays of seedlings and cuttings you’re about to sow, so now is the perfect time to sweep up all last year’s debris from the floor and give everything a good scrub with disinfectant before the new season. Make sure that glass is nice and clear and don’t forget the edges where pests and diseases can lurk. Whilst you’re at it, give your pots and seed trays a good wash too so that your new seedlings get off to a healthy start as possible. You can reward yourself afterwards with a nice cuppa tea whilst sitting in your shiny clean greenhouse in the sunshine.
3. There are some seeds you can start sowing now… I know! So exciting! (geddit?) Gernium, Begonias, peppers and aubergines can be sown now as along as you can stick them in a propagator as they need a bit of heat to get them growing.
4. Sort your borders. Don’t be going mad with the secateurs just yet, but now is a good time to clear out dead leaves, cut back dead growth from deciduous grasses and divide herbaceous perennials… but the later you leave it, the better in my opinion because we have to think about all those lovely garden friendly insects that need a little bit of garden debris. If you really need the exercise, and the soil isn’t hard or full of water, then it’s a great idea to work in some well-rotted manure or other organic matter into your beds.
5. Plan! And finally, from the comfort of your armchair, you can order summer flowering bulbs and seeds and plan any new garden layouts on paper before you head out and start the hard manual labour. Of course, if a new patio or a complete overhaul of your garden is needed, we’re there for you too. We love embracing new interesting projects so give us a call.
If your garden is looking tired and neglected and you’d like to transform your outdoor space into something remarkable, get in touch using our contact page. Creating beautiful, inspired gardens in Leeds, Harrogate, York and the surrounding yorkshire area. To see more of our garden projects, click here.