how to prepare Your garden for spring

It’s that time of year again! Time to start thinking about preparing your garden for spring. Sunshine and rain during this season cause plants to grow quickly, and we know that if we have taken good care of our little garden it will not be very long before we have many lovely flowers.

Preparing beds, tools, and plants now means your garden will thrive come spring as temperatures warm and growth takes off.

The arrival of spring brings more tasks to be done in the garden

There are many things to do and think about at this time of the year. Growing plants need attention, more seeds should be sown, bulbs planted, and the ground should also be kept clear of weeds.

Soil Care

When spring arrives, the gardener must get the soil warm as soon as possible, and if the frosts have done their job, the soil should be friable. Forking and raking will produce the fine tilth required for seed-sowing at this time of year.

It has been suggested that the soil in a seed bed should be so fine that no particle is larger than a grain of wheat.

Flowers

The Cornflower is a favorite flower of mine. The seeds can be sown this month. It is important however, that seedlings should be thinned out in order to let each young plant have room to grow. The plants bloom in Summer. Annual Sweet Aryssum is a splendid plant for making a border, or for growing in a rockery. The seed may be sown in Spring.

Marigolds are very useful, and easy to grow. Seed should be sown this season; also Nasturtiums.
If you can get one or two roots, or tubers as they are called, of Dahlia, now is the time for planting them.
Flowers that bloom in Winter are all too rare, so try to obtain and plant this month a root of the Christmas Rose.

Deadhead daffodils as the flowers have finish and let the foliage naturally die back. Californian Poppies or Eschscholtzias, as they are called, can be sown in Spring. These plants bear many flowers of brilliant colours.

A Time to Tidy Up

Spring brings us to a very interesting and busy time in the gardening year. The first thing you need to do is clean up all the debris that has accumulated over the winter months. This includes leaves, twigs, dead plants, and anything else that is no longer serving a purpose in your garden. Not only will this make your gardening tasks easier, but it will also help prevent the spread of disease.

This time of year is a busy one for the gardener, you should prune your rose-trees. You’ll need a good quality pair of secateurs.

Now it’s time to start planting!

Plant native hedges and plants to encourage wildlife.

Be sure to choose plants that are appropriate for your climate and sunlight conditions. Also, be sure to water your plants regularly and fertilize them according to their needs. If you follow these simple tips, you’ll be well on your way to having a beautiful spring garden!

There are many seeds and plants to be placed in the garden during Spring. When the ground has been well smoothed by means of a rake, seeds of Love-in-a-Mist can be sown out of doors. If they are put in late in the month, you will have some beautiful flowers from Summer onwards.

Seed of Annual Chrysanthemum can be sown outdoors this month. Shirley Poppy seeds, too, should be sown now to give brilliant patches of color in summer. Clarkia is a pretty flower, if the seed is sown this month you will have blossoms from Summer onwards.

If you can get some Montbretia bulbs, these can be planted in Spring, as also can the roots of Michaelmas Daisy. Seeds of one or two flowers can be planted in a box indoors this month, if you can manage it. These include Annual Asters, Ten-Week Stocks and Pansies.

Cuttings of Geraniums can also be set in pots indoors ready for transplanting later. If you did not sow your Sweet Pea seeds in Winter, you can sow them out of doors now. In the plan for next month we shall give you a small design for a flower-bed, which you may find useful. Perhaps it would be best to study it before the Sweet Pea seeds are sown, then, if you decide to use the design, your scheme will not be upset.

A few Gladiolus bulbs should be planted in your garden. These plants have beautiful blooms and they are an important part of the design for April, in which the Sweet Peas also play a part.

Spring is a good time for planting flowers in your rockery, the making of we covered in Winter. Small roots of Arabis, Aubretia and Thrift, Yellow Alyssum and various of the saxifrages can be planted. Others you should get if you can afford them are Cheddar Pink and Veronica, which later gives you a mass of lovely blue flowers.

If you have space in your garden you can so wallflower seeds now. These seeds will grow to plants which bear flowers the following Spring. Seeds of the pretty little forget-me-not can be sown this month, to show flowers next year.

Spring is the season for planting Snap-dragons. If you have grown the seed indoors you can move young plants out into the flower bed, These plants, of course, can be obtained from most plant nurseries. There are three kinds of dwarf, medium and tall and they grow best if placed in a dunny part of the garden. Seeds of the beautiful Zinnia can be sown now.

Ten-Week Stocks can also be transplanted this month; also Annual Asters.

This is the time for designing an attractive flower-bed of a good colour scheme. Remember that the Sweet Peas need rich, well­-manured soil, and that the Nasturtiums prefer poor soil. Three Gladioli bulbs should be planted in the shape of a triangle. The Asters you should buy as plants – they are very inexpensive and do not plant them until next month. By Asters we mean the Ostrich Plume or Comet Chinese Asters, and not the Michaelmas Daisy, which is the true Aster.

The Spring Vegetable Plot

Time to spring back into gardening mode and get organised before the growing season really starts. In the vegetable garden we can now sow Scarlet-runner Beans. Later in the season marrow can be sown. A good plan is to dig a shallow pit for each seed. Take out the earth to a depth of a foot, and replace it with rotted garden refuse and manure, planting the seed in the center. Remember to water the plants well as they grow, and you should have good results.

In the vegetable garden you should now so lettuce, onion, radish and spinach seed. Start seeds indoors and under grow lights for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Plant potatoes, lettuce, carrots, peas, and radishes. At the end of Spring, transplant early varieties of tomatoes outdoors with protection.

It is important for you to thin out unsparingly root crops such as carrot, parsnips and turnips. This should be done directly the plants are large enough to be handled.

The tops of broad-beans should be nipped off, to deter black fly from attacking them. Cauliflower, Sprout and Cabbage plants can be set out in the garden this month, though you should ensure the plants have plenty of room to grow.

A weeding bridge is very useful for weeding vegetable and flower beds. With it you can get to all parts without treading on the plants. It is made by simply placing a board on two flowerpots which are turned upside down.

To keep your spade nice and clean, you can easily make a simple wooden spade cleaner or a bucket of sharp sand.

Spring is the right time of year to establish an asparagus bed if you are starting with crowns. Make sure you get it in the right location as it will be there permanently.

Watering Vegetables

Water vegetables as little as possible. Water drawn straight from the tap can do more harm than good, as if its too cold and always gives the plants a shock. The best way is to fill a watering can and and let the water stand until it is of the same temperature as the air, or to take off the chill by the addition of a little hot water – or indeed vice-versa!

Garden Pests in Spring

It is during Spring that we must be on the look-out for garden pests such as snails and slugs, a good tip is that they can be kept away by scattering a little lime lightly over the soil. Others, which attack leaves with a cool solution of strong soapy water. Ash, too, is useful in keeping away pests, if scattered around the roots.

Spring Gardening Jobs

• Start seeds indoors for transplants you aim to move outdoors after your last frost date passes and under grow lights for tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants
• Prune your roses, trees, or shrubs
• Plant potatoes, lettuce, carrots, peas, and radishes
• At the end of Spring, transplant early varieties of tomatoes outdoors with protection
• Deadhead daffodils as the flowers have finish and let the foliage naturally die back
• Plant native hedges and plants to encourage wildlife
• This month you should prune your rose-trees. You’ll need a good quality pair of secateurs.
• Remove any remaining debris from the garden beds, like dead leaves, spent plants, etc. This allows for proper air circulation and cleanup.
• Prune back overgrown trees, shrubs, and perennials to remove dead branches, shape the plants, and encourage new growth. Avoid pruning too early while frost risk remains.
• Cut back ornamental grasses left for winter interest to a few inches above the ground. Rake out old grass debris.
• Test your soil and add amendments like compost as needed to improve texture and nutrients for spring planting.
• Till or lightly turn over the soil with a shovel or hoe to aerate and break up compacted areas. Avoid tilling extremely wet soils.
• Edge garden beds and paths to give your garden a neat, defined look. Use an edging tool or spade to create crisp edges.
• Fertilize trees, shrubs, and any perennials emerging with a balanced organic fertilizer to boost growth. Follow label instructions.
• Plant any new trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs, etc. as soon as soil can be worked. Check suggested planting times.
• Consider adding structural elements like trellises, arbors, fences and benches to your garden this season.

Finally, Spring is probably you last time to catch up on gardening inspiration. Check our great gardening reads before it’s too late. Preparing your garden for Spring may seem like a lot of work, but it’s actually quite simple if you break it down into steps. Just be sure to clean up debris, prep your soil, and plant appropriately for your location, and you’ll be well on your way to enjoying a gorgeous Spring garden!