Give your box hedge the edge
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Give your box hedge the edge. Read our maintenance tips.
Read MoreYour guide to growing veggies this season
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If you have been thinking of starting up a veggie patch but never had the time, coronavirus lockdown delivers a silver lining (we’re always looking for the positives)!
At the moment, many people in our community are dipping their toes into the water and setting up veggie patches. Some who are home schooling are looking for enriching projects for their kids, some are worried about food shortages and security, and some just have more time on their hands and looking to keep busy.
Read MoreWhat to do in the garden in spring
/Spring is the moment we gardeners have been looking forward to all winter. Most of us are desperate to whip out our tools and get outside. There’s plenty to do!
Now is a great time to focus on soil health. If you do nothing else in spring, do this! You can read our article on soil makeovers here.
For lush green lawns, apply a slow release lawn fertiliser.
It's also a good time to top up your mulch and check your irrigation systems are working.
If you are planning on growing tomatoes, get the beds ready for planting around the end of September. Planting before that is risky due to night time temperatures. Get seeds started now, either on a sunny windowsill inside or outside with some protective covering.
Insects are making a return to the garden, so check for early signs of attack. Planting flowers to attract beneficial insects is one way to keep insect populations under control and may reduce the need to use chemicals.
White butterfly decoys can trick cabbage moths into going somewhere else and insect hotels can encourage more beneficial insects to make your garden their home. An effective organic treatment for cabbage moths is the product Dipel, which kills the caterpillars but does not affect beneficial insects.
Aphids are another insect that many people find in their garden. These can be dealt with using an oil such as Eco Oil, Pyrethrum spray, or just hosing them off with a strong jet of water.
Spring planting
Veggies: beans, beetroot, carrots, eggplants, peas, leeks, lettuces, onions, spring onions, spinach, tomatoes.
Fruit: blueberries, mulberries, raspberries, passionfruit and strawberries.
Flowers: alyssum, cornflowers, cosmos, echinacea, eridgeron, geraniums, jasmine, lavender, lobelia, petunias, marigolds, nasturtiums, roses, sunflowers (and more!)
Herbs: basil (later in spring), chives, dill, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme.
This is not an exhaustive list by any means, in spring the planting options are endless!
If you would like to set up a vegetable garden, we’ve created a guide on where to start.