The days are longer and warmer, which means the season for gardening is truly upon us – no more excuses! If you’re looking out on your winter-beaten patch and not sure where to begin, we’ve got 5 tasks to get you well on the way to a glorious garden.
?1) Mow your lawn
One thing that loves the longer days is your lawn, which will now be springing back to life with impressive vigour. It’s time to wheel out the mower and trim on the highest setting it can do. Mowing your lawn has instant impact, will put off moss and weeds and allow you to assess its overall health. If you see any patchy bits, now’s a great time to sow seed, too.?
2) Sow last-minute tomatoes
Tomatoes are natives of Peru, so need quite a lot of TLC to get going in our cooler climate. For any chance of a good crop this year, you need to sow seeds now indoors. When they have two leaves, be ruthless and transplant only the strongest into larger pots.
3) Plant gladioli and other summer bulbs
You can now start to plant summer bulbs in pots for big and bright blooms this year. Plant gladioli in groups, with bulbs about 2cm apart and move the pot into a frost free place. You can start to plant them in the ground in a couple of weeks, too. Don’t use them all up in one go – gladioli generally take 100 days from planting to flower, so they’re really easy to plan your patio pots around. To keep a display going all summer, simply plant some more bulbs every 10 days!
4) Support perennials
Whether it’s canes for climbers or wire surrounds for shrubs, now’s the time to put in supports. Adding support now lessens the risk of irreparable damage, and allows perennials to grow around and completely cover them.
5) Sow annuals
Bedding plants may not seem expensive, but the price soon adds up. This cost can be completely avoided by starting off seeds now. Plants like lobelia and marigolds are garden favourites that grow well from seed under cover, while hardy annuals like cosmos and nigella can go straight in well-prepared soil now.
