IN BLOOM Now’s the time to get cracking with your garden! Here’s five tips to make sure your yard will blossom this summer… Tidy your borders Before doing anything, an idea to get you into the swing of things is to have a general tidy up and get rid of any leaves and debris from flower beds and borders leaving bare soil. Dispose of any weeds you can see instead of composting them as the seeds will germinate and cause you more problems later on. Before you start the next step, dig a 5cm layer of compost.
Start planting now It’s an easy mistake to make to think that the best time to start planting is in May, just before the summer. In actual fact, you can start much earlier than that. At this time of year you could add plants such as tulips for a nice bit of colour in your garden. If you prefer something a little different then you can chuck in some vegetables like lettuce or peas. Starting now will ensure your garden will be flourishing within two months.
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Sort your Lawn Your lawn will have been neglected over the winter months, the poor old chap. Now’s the time to blow the dust of the mower and give it some much needed TLC. Begin with the blades lower for a shorter cut to make sure the grass stays sturdy and grows out healthy. If you’re starting out with a new lawn, now’s the time to sow grow seedlings or lay turf. Prune the shrubs Remove dead, damaged, and diseased branches from plants or shrubbery. You can cut back the old dead growth of deciduous grasses and herbaceous perennials now, although, if you’d like to be wildlife friendly, it’s best to leave these until early spring. Plants from last year that survived the winter will need to be trimmed, too.
