How to create an ‘effortless’ Spring garden
Where to start?
Winter is almost over, and it means that our gardens are about to come back to life and dazzle us with colour and vibrancy. In the spring, we see a large number of our plants come back to life, and it can make our space look amazing. Before you start planting, your garden will more than likely need some preparation. If you want to prepare for your spring garden now, you can do a few things to help ensure that your space ‘springs’ back after winter time.
Organise bulbs and seeds:
Bulbs and seeds are your best friend when it comes to your garden. By using some bulbs such as crocus, daffodil and tulip, you will be sure to get some stunning colours and species into the garden this spring. You can also buy a wild flower seed mix and scatter this over the space to give you an effortless spread of colour, really helping to create a ‘Cottage Garden’ feel to your space. Seeds and bulbs will now be available to buy in most garden centres.
Clear up flower beds:
Let your landscape gardening skills come out for this one, and take on the project of clearing the way for your spring plants this weekend. During the autumn and winter your garden will accumulate a huge amount of leaves, weeds and rotten plants. This weekend give yourself the task of pulling all of these weeds and rotten plants out, and clearing leaves and debris from your flower beds.
Clean your greenhouse:
If you have a greenhouse in the garden, make sure you clean it thoroughly to. ensure that the light can get into your seedlings this year. You can start planting small seedlings now for germination such as snapdragons and sweet William, and check on them during the coming weeks as the weather begins to change.
Get rid of pests:
Now is the perfect time to track down those pests which eat all of your lilies and lay eggs on your shrubs. Winter is the best time to do this because pests will be hibernating, so you can get them out before they begin to wake and move around again. If you closely inspect your perennials you may find small colonies of aphids or even slugs which are hibernating. Take this chance to get rid of them before they ruin your garden.
Moving shrubs:
If you are planning to relocate a shrub to another part of the garden, you should take the opportunity now while it is dormant. Choose your day wisely, and you will be able to avoid the roots from drying out and dying. Make sure you dig a large area around the shrub in order to take as much root with you as you can, this will make sure that the shrub is strong enough to survive once you’ve moved it.
A herb garden:
One great way to spruce up the garden and add life is to make a herb garden. All you will need is a wooden box, or bulb crate, some black liner and compost to create the perfect place for herbs to live. You can pick up basil plants and other herbs from the garden centre and plant them straight into your trough. This will add a wonderful sensory experience to your garden.
We hope this post has inspired you to start preparing your space for spring, come and see us at Palmers for any help or advice.