With the arrival of slightly less cold weather and not so much rain it’s time to start thinking about how to make the most of your garden this spring.
Tidy Up
Use the time in spring to get ready for the summer months by tidying up the garden. Clear your borders and flower beds of debris and dead leaves. Weed these areas and put down some mulch if the soil is still moist.
Remove any fallen branches from the garden and prune hydrangeas, lavender and rosemary. Trimming hedges is not permitted between March 1st and July 31st to allow birds to nest so make sure this is done before the deadline.
Plant Summer Bulbs
You will have plenty of choice of summer bulbs and seeds at this time of year with garden centres and nurseries full of options. In mild areas you can plant hardy annuals straight into the ground but for colder areas start them off in pots. Now is also a good time to plant some herbaceous perennials including oriental poppies and geranium.
Annuals and perennials can be planted from late March until May although in the south of the UK, the soil may warm up earlier. Sweet peas can be planted now to provide a rainbow of colour in June or July.
Open Up Your Home
Consider installing some patio doors in your home to make access to the garden much easier and link the outside and inside spaces. With styles to suit any home, you can have sliding, hinged or bifold patio doors in a range of materials which will determine the patio door cost.
Patio doors let more natural light into your home, improve ventilation and give you more useable space as the outside becomes an extension of your kitchen or dining area. In spring you can leave the patio doors open and enjoy the sights, sounds and fragrances of the garden without even having to go outside.
Maintenance Jobs
With spring weather arriving you can finally get out into the garden to tackle all the necessary maintenance jobs that winter prevented you from doing. Check your fence for loose or broken panels, make sure your shed roof is intact and fix that wonky gate.
If you have been putting off building a dedicated compost bin now is the time to do it. Spring is the ideal time to be working in the garden on these tasks as the weather is mild and annoying insects should be at a minimum.
Build A Wildlife Habitat
While you are in a building mood why not create a wildlife habitat in a quiet part of your garden? It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. A simple birdbox, bee sanctuary or pile of leaves and logs as a hedgehog retreat could make a huge difference to struggling wildlife in your area.
Consider not mowing your lawn for a couple of months. Daisies, clover and cowslips provide insects and animals with food and look very pretty in spring. Why not install a water feature which could benefit wildlife such as frogs and newts as well as add to the aesthetic of your garden?