Getting out in the Garden this spring

Getting out in the Garden this spring.

As the winter months start to recede it’s time to cast a weather eye on the state of your garden. Spring brings with it the chance to breathe new life into the garden and with the bulbs you’ve planted bearing the usual fruit you might be wondering what else needs doing. The winter gives us some respite from weeds but considering the very mild and wet winter we have had they will soon be coming back with a vengeance. Also the grass will start to find its feet and if yours is like mine the old place is looking a bit sorry for itself.

All of our Gloucester Park Homes come with a small garden area that you are free to plant and the communal hedges and landscaping areas are maintained by our specialist staff on-site.

Before you set to and do battles with it take moment to pause and reflect with a nice cup of tea what you actually need to do first rather than rush in rake and fork.

1. Plan out and order what summer flowing plants and bulbs you want – Every year is like a blank canvas and you can see what you are going to have next to your hardy perennials.  It’s quite likely that you won’t be able to get out into the garden anyway so why not stay inside and order your bulbs and seeds for the summer time. You could plan out where they are going to be planted.
2. Time for a general tidy up – Get those borders cleared of weeds and remaining dead summer autumn plants. It always looks better when you’ve got a bit of soil showing. Weeds should be burnt, if you’re allowed to, or put in the garden waste bin from the council, if you have them. Don’t be tempted to compost them, the seeds will stay and come back to life causing you a few headaches.
3. Get some Mypex down – If the weather is ok, now is a good time once the weeds have been removed to lay down some sheeting. Covering this with pebbles or wood bark brightens up the place and you can easily cut through and remove the excess for when you start planting.
4. Make the greenhouse a clean house – Assuming you have one this is great time to get out and clean it up. You’ll be protected from the elements. This also applies to a shed.
5. Plant seeds that need a bit more time – You might not see the benefit till later in the summer but getting those geraniums, antirrhinums and begonia seeds in the soil now is a very good idea. That cleaned out greenhouse will come in handy as they will need a warm spot for the propagators.

That should keep you going for a start. There are still other jobs like maintaining fences and gates, looking at building up your defences against slugs and pests, install a water butt to take advantage of the later winter/April Showers and make an area for compost.