How to get your garden ready for Spring

It’s finally starting to get warmer and with spring just around the corner, it’s time to start dusting off your gardening tools and start thinking about how to get your garden ready for spring.

Whether you’re dreaming about an outdoor oasis, gorgeous flower beds or a bounty of vegetables, we have five top tips to help ensure your garden is ready for spring…. ready, set, green thumb!

1. Clean up
   Firstly, we suggest giving your garden a good clean and composting any dead plants leftover from the winter. Following this, while the soil is still damp, you might want to begin the battle against the weeds. Doing this when the soil is still damp will make it easier to pull out any young weed seedlings.
    

2. Start Composting
   Compost is a super-food for plants! So, if you haven’t already, try setting up a compost area in your garden. Depending on the size of your garden, this could simply be a ready-made compost bin or you could get your DIY on and build one using spare bits of wood. This will not only mean you have a place for all the dead plants you‘ve started to clear up, but your plants will also benefit from the rich compost created when it all breaks down.
    

3. Plan your planting
   Before you start planting, plan what you’re going to grow where and when.  For example, plants such are geraniums need a longer season so you should plan and sow those seeds earlier than plants which don’t take as long. Planning early will also give you a chance to start browsing the gardening centres and websites and picking out all the delicious, beautiful plants you would like to grow this year.
    

4. Work your soil
   While this might not be the most enjoyable part of gardening, putting in the work by breaking up clods, raking and aerating your soil, will ensure an even distribution of seeds when it comes to planting. If you really want to go the extra mile, try mixing in coffee grounds – they will help deter slugs and other pests, and help acid loving plants like rhododendrons thrive. 
    

5. Prepare your lawn
   Spring is a great time to feed and rake your lawn and scarify the ground. This will remove all debris and dead grass cuttings, allowing it to breath and not become water logged… ensuring your grass will be greener going into spring.