Thoughts of Spring

Instant Scenery’s Top Tips to Spring Gardening

Here at Instant Scenery, we are getting a little bit tired of this rain. To brighten ourselves up a bit, we thought it would be a good time to start thinking about brighter, sunnier days and beginning work on our Spring gardens.

Spring is a great time to get back into gardening and the perfect time to be planting flowers, beginning to grow vegetables and getting rid of those nasty weeds from Winter.

To be sure you’re ready, here are some handy hints and tips for a beautiful Spring garden. Fertilise and Prune

Now is the time to prepare your garden for growth. Fertilise all plants and lawns as growth resumes and prune hibiscus and plants that flowered in Winter and be sure to remove dead and damaged branches from woody plants. If you have Summer­blooming shrubs such as Butterfly Bush, Hydrangea or (most) Roses, thin them out now. When you do, be sure to only prune spring­blooming shrubs and trees after flowering.

Prune your Fruit Trees!

Most fruit trees such as apples, cherries and peaches will benefit hugely from being thinned every year. This not only encourages healthy tree growth, but also makes it easier to harvest the produce later in the year. The best time to prune is before new growth develops so early Spring is the ideal time.

Summer ­flowering Bulbs and Seeds

While it’s wet and windy, take up the task of choosing Summer ­flowering bulbs, seeds and vegetables. Good ideas such as Lillies and Gladiolus c an be planted in early Spring so you’re garden is ready by Summer. As well as flowers, you can choose herbs such as dill and chives and vegetables such as spinach, radishes and kale.

Weed and Renew Mulch

Any weeds which appear in your garden beds will be easiest to pull now whilst the roots are shallow. Covering bare spots with mulch around 3­4 inches in depth will minimise the amount of new weeds that grow back through. Plastic sheeting is another good prevention tool that can cover the beds before planting as another way to suppress emerging weeds in your garden. A good tip is to flip the sheeting over about once a week. This enables you to remove slugs that have been hiding in the bed and is a simple way to reduce the slug population in your Spring garden.

Watch for Rot

To reduce the rot on stems of plants and fruit trees, keep the mulch a few inches away from tree trunks and the crowns and stems of plants. Be sure to watch out for pests such as aphids and snails. Aphids can be squashed or treated and snails and slugs can be trapped or deterred.

Following these simple steps now will ensure a beautiful garden in Summer. Happy Spring!