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The winter of soggy malaise is over. Daffs have popped up; the tulips are well on their way; the days are bright, clear and longer than the nights are short. With that comes a sense of the outdoors: the garden. Perhaps this fills you with delight, getting your fingers in the earth after work or dinner. Or perhaps it fills you with a sense of vague dread – you haven’t been out there all winter, and there’s just so much to do.
But our gardens are places for us to enjoy and share with others in our ecosystem. So if you want to spend the summer luxuriating in yours, now is the time to get your sticks together: sow, grow and don’t mow.
How to get your garden ready for spring and summer
Extend pots with summer bulbs
Abyssinian gladiolus
If your containers are now looking gorgeous, make sure you enjoy them – then get thinking about what’s going to sit in their place. You can get good deals on cut-price dahlias at the moment, but don’t ignore gladiolus (I like Acidanthera murielae) or the towering eremurus.
… and leave your spring ones well alone
“Don’t go cutting the leaves off your spring bulbs once they’ve gone over,” says Pollyanna Wilkinson, garden designer and author of How to Design a Garden. “It’s important that you leave the leaves in place so the bulbs can photosynthesise and store energy for next year.” If in doubt, keep all bulb foliage until it’s yellowed, when it should be easy to pull away.
Invest in garden furniture
Habitat Indu two-seater bench
It’s just beginning to get warm and bright enough to take a morning coffee outside (more on that below), but winters, especially those as soggy as we’ve had, can be tough on garden furniture. At the very least, a bucket of warm soapy water and a stiff brush down will get off seasonal grub – and for plastic and hardwood furniture, this is probably all that’s needed. Softwood furniture may benefit from being stained.
If you’re after new furniture, now’s the time to buy it – ahead of May’s bank holiday weekends. Habitat has a huge collection of affordable pieces: the warm red of this sofa will pop against foliage.
For more, read our guide to the best garden furniture
Get sowing
Seedling labels, pack of 24
Nasturtium ‘Gleam Salmon’ seeds
Fine rose watering can attachment
If you’re a fan of getting something from seemingly nothing, sowing from seed can be one of the most satisfying gardening jobs around. It helps to get yourself set up: seed trays with a plastic cover can make a greenhouse of a windowsill; labelling is crucial; and a fine rose attachment for a watering can will aid success. Go easy, and don’t be tempted to sow the whole packet unless you fancy nurturing dozens of seedlings until the first frost has passed.
Try a seed swap
I always like a good seed sortout at this time of year, working out what I’m going to sow as the ground warms up. But there are a few things I’ll never sow: large brassicas, for instance, or anything aggressively purple (I just don’t like the colour). Seed swaps are happening in community gardens all over the country – find a local one, get rid of what you’re not growing and gain something new.
Be more mindful
To Stand and Stare book
“How busy do you really want to be this year in the garden?” asks Andrew Timothy O’Brien, author of To Stand & Stare. If you really want to tend to hundreds of seedlings, be my guest, he advises, but perhaps you’d rather sow a small pot with your favourite flower. Then you can use the rest of the time to watch butterflies among the wildflowers in your infrequently mown lawn. Or read a book – I strongly recommend O’Brien’s.
Don’t mow your lawn
A spicy meatball this, but it’s one I’ve been indulging in for years. #NoMowMay has increased awareness about the wafty beauty and benefits to pollinators that an unmown lawn brings in spring, but why stop there? I tend to leave mine long until high summer. If that’s too much, leaving distinct patches or mowing paths offers a more curated way in.
For more, read our guide on how to create a more eco-friendly lawn
Cut new borders
Half moon edging tool
I love cutting new borders; there’s something deeply satisfying about it. And now’s a good time, before everything gets growing and you’ve got new plants on the way. It may help to get out some graph paper, but otherwise try feeling your way with a few stakes, string and a few good looks at your plot. Make beds nice and wide – invariably wider than you think. A solid metre or so will make for truly magical herbaceous borders.
Consider a cutting patch
Dahlia mix
Sweet pea collection
Cornflower ‘Black Ball’
“Don’t strip your borders for the vase,” warns floral designer and broadcaster Hazel Gardiner. She loves bringing in flowers from the garden, and advises “growing with cutting in mind” if space is available. “Dedicate a small cutting patch with productive annuals such as cosmos, cornflowers and sweet peas. You’ll naturally cut more generously, encourage branching and keep the main garden looking abundant.” And if you’ve no room, “dramatic dahlias are the perfect flowers to weave into permanent borders”.
Divide and conquer
Hand fork
Hold off on the garden centre until you’ve had a look at what you can multiply from your beds, says garden designer Charlie Chase. “Cut back any later-flowering perennials that you really like (think hardy geraniums, nepeta, Alchemilla mollis), lift them, and divide them. It’s a great way of creating more rhythm in your garden. It’s free, and you get double the plants you like.”
Do a wildlife survey
Nicotiana
Star jasmine
Lottie Delamain, garden designer and author of Gardens That Can Save the World, says that if you want to boost your garden ecosystem, working out who’s already turning up is a good place to start. “Suss out what (or who) is in your garden, and plant accordingly,” she says. “Think in food chains: if you want owls, you need moths, and if you want moths you need night-scented plants, such as nicotiana and jasmine.”
Spruce up what you’ve got
Outdoor cushion
Exhausted by the idea of sowing seeds? Can’t quite get to the garden centre? Don’t want to mulch? That’s understandable. Start by sprucing what you’ve got. A lick of paint on some old pots or furniture, a good sweep of the patio. Perhaps throw an old tablecloth or even some new cushions on to the bench or cafe chairs – or even just the lawn. Making the place seem inviting can usher in more horticultural enthusiasm.
Kuniyoshi rust eraser
Sharpening stone
One thing’s for sure: there’s a lot of deadheading ahead. Sharp and clean tools aren’t just for professionals; they make the job easier and prevent transferring plant infection around. It also needn’t be daunting: a good stone, applied with patience, can bring blades back to the point. I like a rust eraser and some water for getting rid of the grime. You’ll be shining and snipping before you know it.
For more, read our guide to making your garden tools last longer
Organise your shed
Hyllis shelving unit
Plastic storage box
If you’re wading through a morass of deckchairs, tools, toys and random garden apparatus whenever you open your shed, chances are it needs a tidy. Proper shelving can help keep everything in place. If you’re really keen, big plastic storage boxes keep out dust, the weather and creatures (crucial if you’re storing birdfood) and keep in everything else.
Get out early
“Just enjoy it,” says garden designer Alexandra Noble. She tells me she likes to don a fleece (or two) and sit among her flowering bulbs first thing in the morning. If you’re going to spend seven or eight hours at your desk, you can afford 15 minutes to drink a coffee in the morning sun.
For more:
The best pressure washers for cleaning garden furniture and patios
The best secateurs to save you time and effort when pruning
Gardening pros on the tools they can’t live without
Alice Vincent is a writer, author and gardener
