Spring has arrived so time to get busy in the garden to ensure your outside space will look its best, as well as providing a bountiful harvest!
It’s important to prepare your soil before any planting, so clear weeds, which will be appearing now, then add plenty of organic compost, which will help retain moisture, and fertiliser, like bonemeal, digging it in lightly. Don’t dig too deeply as this will encourage dormant weeds to germinate!
Spring is a good time for planting trees and shrubs, to provide focal points, colour, scent as well as attract wildlife, like bees, butterflies, birds and insects to bring your garden alive with nature. If possible, try to include indigenous plants which are drought-tolerant and well suited to the climate.
Sow some annual flower seeds for colourful borders, like sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos and marigolds, add perennials including Osteopermums, gauras, delphiniums, echinaceas and penstemons. Pollinators will love them!
Check any containers for roots appearing through drainage holes, meaning the plant is pot bound and needs repotting in a larger container. Top up existing containers with a layer of fresh compost to feed this years new growth
In the vegetable plot sow bush and climbing beans, Swiss chard, carrots, peppers, eggplant, sweetcorn, chillies, peas, beetroot, tomatoes, radish and celery and keep a look out for hungry snails and slugs, eager to demolish tender seedlings! A few edible flower seeds sown amongst the veggies like nasturtiums, calendulas and scented geraniums will add extra interest.
Don’t forget houseplants! As temperatures start to increase begin watering and feeding houseplants once a week with a proprietary feed. Make sure the leaves are dust free and mist regularity with tepid water.