Top tips for your garden:

Believe it or not - Spring is here! 

Mad as a March Hare!

The weather starts to warm up from March onwards so Spring is a very busy time for traditional gardeners. The battle against pests and weeds starts from now, so watch out for slugs attacking young shoots of your favourite plants and remove weeds regularly to prevent them taking all the nutrients from the soil.

Shrubs with colourful winter stems should be pruned now, and ornamental grasses can have dead foliage ‘combed’ out or can be cut back to about 10cm tall to allow for new growth. 

Summer flowering bulbs can be planted now and bare patches in lawns can be re-seeded.

New shoots of climbers should be tied in to supports as required and remove the dead flower heads of spring bulbs regularly to help them store enough energy for the following year.

If you haven’t already done so in Autumn, trim grey-leafed shrubs (eg, lavender) to keep them in shape. Do not cut too far into the woody stems though as the may not recover.

Trim plants after flowering to help maintain shape – box hedging and other formal hedges can be trimmed lightly.

Be aware of late frosts, so think carefully before uncovering tender or tropical plants.

Lawns can start to be cut regularly now – our Guide to Lawn Care has more detailed information.

Now is also a good time to improve the soil – dig in lots of well rotted organic matter.

If you have bulbs coming through your lawn, wait until 6 weeks after flowering before cutting them back.

And dont forget - Plant fairs and garden shows start soon. I am the official 'Garden Doctor' for   The Garden Shows check out the dates and buy tickets on the link.