Our tree surgeons in Glossop have been busy throughout the last month helping people get their gardens ready for the spring and summer months.
With the nicer weather bringing more people out in to the garden, here are some of the jobs you can be doing yourself in early Spring, as well as some which we can help with.
Jobs to be doing in March/April
General Tidying & Maintenance
First and foremost now is the time to start tidying your garden, removing all weeds and last years leaves. Whilst doing this you can start to get an idea of other jobs you’ll need to do, such as pruning, moving plants and cutting back. foliage.
Remember to thoroughly clean all garden equipment, especially your secateurs before cutting anything back.
If you need assistance clearing bigger items which you may not be able to move yourself, such as large branches or trunks that may have snapped in the wind, we are happy to assist you.
Pruning & Trimming Back Foliage
Now is the perfect time to trim everything back before your plants starts to bloom. There will be fresh buds on your plants at this stage so prune sparingly, ensuring you’re not removing too many of your healthy stems. At this stage it’s best to just tidy up your plants and ensure any dead stems are removed.
Other plants such as ferns and crocosmia should also be cut right back at this time of year, to encourage fresh healthy growth. Ensure you don’t cut too much of your fresh crocosmia growth though, as it should already be producing fresh growth at this time of year.
Moving Plants
If you want to move any plants to different locations now is the last time to do it before they start to ‘wake up’. You can move plants later on in the year, especially if they’re small but there’s a higher chance you’ll damage or disrupt them once they’re no longer dormant.
Depending on the size of the plant you may need assistance from our tree surgeons, as it can be difficult to move large plants without damaging them. Typically you need to dig a whole as wide as the furthest bit of foliage and ensure it’s deep enough to not damage any of the roots.
Sewing Seeds
If you haven’t already, start sewing your seeds now ready to be planted out in 6-8 weeks. Some flowers such as sunflowers grow quickly, so there isn’t as much of a rush to sew these, but others such as lobelia can take a while longer, so if you’re wanting to add a lot of colour to your garden in the summer now is the time to act.
This year we’ll be sewing a mixture of red nasturtiums, marigolds, blue lobelia, sunflowers, snow carpets and asters.
Planting Bulbs
It’s too late to plant bulbs such as tulips and bluebells (unless you’re planting them for next year), but now is the time to start getting your summer bulbs such as lilies and agapanthus out in to the garden. Our lilies are already starting to come through, so don’t leave this too late and once planted remember to check your lilies for red beetles, as we’re already starting to see some.
Mulching Soil
Last but not least remember to give a little TLC to your soul, adding manure if possible. The quality of your soil will determine the quality of your plants, so it’s important to spend a bit of time on this. If you can’t get your hands on manure, breaking up the soil and adding some fresh compost and garden fertiliser is your next best option, and remember there are many natural fertilisers you can use from your household waste.
We particularly like using used coffee grounds in our soil, as it not only acts as a fertiliser but also keep slugs and snails at bay.