It’s time to garden!

Get ahead with your gardening jobs now to create an outdoor space you’ll love to spend time in this summer

Potting and planting

Nothing says summer like sweet peas. You can catch their amazing smell in pots near an outside door, or picked as cut flowers in vases around the house. Late March is the perfect time to sow them straight into the ground or into pots. Soak the seeds in tepid water to rehydrate them first.

Plant gladioli and lily bulbs. A large wooden planter will house an eye-catching display and is useful for filling out sparse corners of the garden (try Rowlinson Rectangular Wooden Planter, £75).

If your lawn is patchy, March is a good month to re-seed (try Go Sure Smart Lawn Seed, £10), or treat with a lawn feed so it’s lush and green for early summer. It’s also the perfect time to give grass its first cut. If you need to invest in a new lawnmower, Flymo Rollermo is good value at £55.

Fancy creating a wildflower lawn instead? You can clear the existing lawn and sow the bare earth with a seed mix that combines grass with flowers such as poppy, cornflower, and yellow daisy. Alternatively, buy tray of wildflower seedlings to plant in holes in your existing lawn. Small groups of the same plants give a natural look. Now sit back and wait for the arrival of butterflies, bees – and warmer days!

A little TLC

Prune and feed roses to encourage strong new growth later (try Toprose, £4). Make cuts at a 45-degree angle, sloping away from an outward-facing bud about 5mm above it. Remove all broken or dead wood. And don’t forget to protect your hands from thorns – Tesco Thorn Resistant Gloves are up to the job and cost just £2 a pair.

If a shrub is too big for the spot it’s in, now’s a good time to move it. Water well the day before, then dig it out, keeping as much of the root ball as possible. The size of the new hole should be the spread of the roots plus an extra 30-60cm. Use the old soil mark on the stem to work out how deep to plant it.

Now’s the time to add supports for climbers, as trying to train wobbly stems later can lead to breakages. Chedworth Garden Obelisks (£32 for three) are great for training sweet peas (see left), honeysuckles or clematis up fences or walls.

Treat flowerbeds with plant food. Add Vitax Fish, Blood and Bone, £2.50, to boost soil fertility and growth.

The big clean-up

Get out the power washer and blast away patches of moss and algae on the patio. Patio Magic (£8.50) is a brilliant all-rounder. Invest in weed killer and pesticides to protect delicate plants. Choose the right solution for the area.

A sunny spring day is a good opportunity to dust off any garden furniture and give it a fresh lick of paint. Try Hammerite Direct To Rust Metal Paint (£12 for 1ltr) for metal furniture. That barbecue and Pimm’s are just around the corner!

WORDS ALISON PALMER ILLUSTRATION EMMA JAYNE DESIGNS