Winter is normally a quiet time in the garden but the spring is here so you can be caught up in the frenzy of seed-sowing, growing, and nurturing your garden as it comes to life!
So what you should do now? Call Atlantir or…
-
- Order summer-flowering bulbs and seeds
This is the perfect task for a wet and windy day! Summer-flowering bulbs such as Lilies, Gladiolus and Ranunculus can be planted in spring for a colorful summer display.
2. Clear up flower beds and borders
- Have a general tidy up and remove leaves and other debris from your flower borders, lawns and ponds. You can cut back the old dead growth of deciduous grasses and herbaceous perennials now, although if you’d like to be wildlife friendly then it’s best to leave the tidy up until spring. If the soil is workable you can dig a 5cm layer of organic matter such as well-rotted manure, compost or recycled green waste into empty garden borders.
- Clean your greenhouseWash your greenhouse before summer arrives! Before long your greenhouse will be home to trays of seedlings and cuttings. Sweep out any plant debris on the floor and benches and disinfect with a hot solution of garden disinfectant. Make sure you disinfect the inside of the glass too – overwintering pests and disease can survive in the smallest nooks and crannies. Whilst you are there, wash pots and seed trays to help prevent diseases. Ventilate your greenhouse well over the next couple of days so it dries thoroughly.
- Hunt down garden pests now
Hunting down and removing hibernating pests now can save a lot of trouble come spring and summer. Take a closer look at the crowns of your perennial plants and you may find slugs, snails and aphid colonies sheltering for the winter. If you still haven’t cleared last years pots of summer bedding then do this now and be on the look-out for the white vine weevil larvae, which live in the compost and feed on plant roots. Destroy any you find and be prepared to treat for vine weevils this year, using parasitic nematodes or chemical drenches.
5. Install water butts
Install water butts in your garden now to collect seasonal rainfall. Not only does this help the environment but rainwater is good for watering ericaceous plants such as Camellias, Rhododendrons and Blueberries (tap water is often slightly alkaline). When installing a water butt make sure itis positioned below a downpipe to make the most of the rainfall.
- Fix fences, gates, and trellis
This is the ideal time of year to get those niggly little jobs out of the way! Any broken structures or tools are best fixed now so you have more time to spend in the garden during the summer. Treat your wooden garden structures with a wood preservative during dry periods.
- Clean gardening tools
Give your tools a clean and a sharpen! Caring for your garden tools not only helps preserve them, it saves you money in the long run and helps prevent the spread of disease. Dirty secateurs may introduce bacteria and fungi to fresh pruning wounds. Sharpening your tools will also improve their performance; they’ll be easier to work with and will give cleaner pruning cuts.
