5 YEAR GUARANTEE You can almost smell the sweet scent of summer, but be sure not to forget all the delights your garden can bring in these early months. As well as delicate spring blossom and the glorious emerging sound of birdsong, there are a multitude of jobs for us to be getting on with in our gardens to ensure we both enjoy the now and are ready for the season ahead, here are a few things you can be doing…
- Remember to keep weeds under control – keep on top of them now so that they don’t become unmanageable later.
- Late frosts are still possible so be sure to protect any fruit blossom and vulnerable new shoots.
- Start to tie in climbing and rambling roses now to ensure strong base support when they begin to grow.
- Now that your shrubs and roses are beginning to awaken from winter be sure to give them a good feed to help boost their fresh growth this season using a granular feed around the base of the plant and a really thick mulch to lock in moisture and help suppress weeds. Remember that often a small area of thick mulch is better than a light covering over a large area.
- Whether you are re-seeding or just repairing small patches in your lawn, now is the time to do it to ensure that you have a lush green carpet in your gardens this summer.
- It is important to deadhead any spent daffodil flowers, apply either a liquid fertiliser or granular feed and allow the leaves to die back – whatever you do, don’t cut the leaves off as all of the goodness is in there and that’s what you want to travel back down into the bulb.
- As the soil is now starting to warm up it is a great time to apply a layer of fertiliser and then a generous layer of mulch to help lock in nutrients and moisture to nourish your plants.
- Remove winter grime from your paths and patios with either a pressure washer/hose or path clear. Now is a great time to get these jobs done before we are all preoccupied with watering and deadheading!
- Now is the time to be planting your herbaceous perennials that will grow and fill any gaps you may have in your borders – remember that for full impact it is always best to plant these in clumps of 3’s or 5’s.
- Hanging basket plants are now in stock so you can start planting up your tubs and baskets – although be sure to protect these young plants from any late frosts and then you can enjoy a mass of colour through the summer months.
- Now that your roses are just starting to show signs of foliage it is important to spray them with rose clear to help protect them from getting black spot and other diseases – remember with rose diseases the key often is to be protective rather than reactive.
- Before the onslaught of the slug and snail army – be sure to arm yourself with all you need to defeat them!! We have a wide range of products in store to help including copper tape and beer traps for the organic gardeners amongst us.
- Tomato plants are now available so you can start them off in a heated greenhouse – don’t forget all the essentials; growbags, cane supports, bamboo canes, tomato feed etc to ensure a bountiful crop this year for you kitchen table.
