Homebase offers advice for preparing your lawn in March
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Managing Director of Hopes Grove Nurseries in Kent, Morris Hankinson, has exclusively with Express.co.uk shared which gardening jobs Britons can be doing now to prepare for the season ahead. Hopes Grove Nurseries was established 27 years ago and grows approximately one million hedge plants in 50 acres of land in Tenterden. The nurseries regularly supplies plants for ITV’s Love Your Garden which features Alan Titchmarsh and David Domoney.
Spring is a great time to prepare a garden for the year ahead.
From tidying to pruning, composting and digging, there’s plenty to be getting on with now.
Sharpen gardening tools
Morris said this is the “very first thing” gardeners should do to get their gardens ready for spring.
Tools need to be cleaned as well as sharpened for them to work effectively.
READ MORE: How to clean a fence: The 3 ingredient solution for a gleaming fence
Morris said: “Blunt secateurs, rusty hand trowels and gardening gloves with holes simply won’t cut it, literally.
“Well-maintained equipment means you can garden more efficiently and safely.”
Tidy up the garden and trim plants
Once garden tools are prepared, gardeners can start to tidy up in preparation for the season ahead.
Morris suggested trimming dead or unkempt leaves, especially if they’ve started to spill out of the plant bed or appear to be overgrown.
However, the gardening expert warned that gardeners should “check for signs of wildlife” before cutting plants.
DON’T MISS
Orchid care: The ‘essential’ trick to producing beautiful blooms [INSIGHT]
Staggering chart shows how much YOUR bills could rise AGAIN in 2022 [UPDATE]
Energy bills fury as Rishi Sunak warned ‘people will die’ [ANALYSIS]
Prune evergreen shrubs and hedges
Morris said spring is an “ideal time” to prune most evergreen shrubs and hedges.
He added: “The worst of the frosts have passed and evergreens will not be growing just yet. The timing could not be better.”
Finish pruning roses
The gardening guru said gardeners should finish off pruning roses before they start to grow more.
Other plants to prune back now include dogwoods and willows which are known for their vibrant stems in winter.
Looking for a new home, or just fancy a look? Add your postcode below or visit InYourArea
Morris said: “Cut them almost to ground level and they will grow a new crop of beautiful stems over the summer to give colour again next winter.”
Divide congested clumps of hardy perennials
Hardy perennials need to be gently lifted up with a garden fork and then divided into clumps using two forks back-to-back.
This will ensure the clumps are gently pulled apart into smaller clumps.
The new clumps can be replanted to keep the display going and put in new positions to elsewhere in the garden.
Dig over the vegetable patch
Morris explained: “Loosening and opening up the soil will help aerate it and it will dry faster ready for spring planting.
“Heavy clay soils will ‘weather’ with rain and frost making them much easier to work and prepare fine soil for seed sowing.”
Restart the compost or start from scratch
Morris said gardeners should also consider sustainability when they’re getting their gardens ready for spring.
Gardeners that had a compost before can continue where they left off or can start a new heap.
He added: “Either way, try to keep sustainability and recycling in mind when trying to get your garden ready for spring.”
Source: Read Full Article