How to get ready for spring

Start by tidying up your garden. Use a leaf blower to gather up all the leaf litter, getting rid of any remaining leaves with a rake and wheelbarrow.

Use a cordless hedge trimmer to trim back overgrown trees and hedges. Finish off by spraying the hedges with Seasol to reduce any shock from the pruning and to give them a good feed.

If you have some tall trees, use telescopic shears to access those hard to reach areas. Trim back any branches so the tree looks less shabby. Remove internal branches to reduce density within the tree; this will bring in natural light and encourage growth during spring time.

Manually pull out weeds in garden beds. To give your beds a neat and clean look, apply garden edging around them, which will also help prevent the grass creeping into the beds.

Mulching helps retain moisture and regulate soil temperature. This means you won’t have to water your garden as much, and it also reduces weed growth. Apply the mulch around your hedges and  other garden beds that need it. You can choose from many different types and colours to suit your garden needs and aesthetic.

Start by giving your lawn a good mow. Next, apply weed killer generously over your lawn. This will kill any weeds in the grass and put nutrients into the soil for the growth season.

While waiting for the weed killer to dry, go around the edges of the lawn with a line trimmer to remove any grass that has grown over any paths. Use it to tackle any areas of grass that your lawn mower couldn’t quite get to, such as around any edging or garden beds.

For larger weeds, you can use a weed puller to remove them quickly and safely.

For weeds that have sprouted amongst your brickwork, you can use an eco-friendly weed killer that is safe for children and pets. Alternatively, you can pull them out manually with your hands.

For any areas that have dead grass from heavy foot traffic or play activity, aerate the soil and put some seeds down so that new grass can grow during spring time. It’s also a good idea to make this area off-limits for a while to give the grass time to strengthen and grow.

If you’ve got a veggie patch in your backyard, start by removing last season’s crop. It's fine to use the soil from the previous year as long as you add nutrients back into the soil, like blood and bone fertiliser and/or compost.

You could also install a compost tumbler nearby, to make your own compost to use in future. Tumblers speed up the composting process and make it easy to transfer the compost to your wheelbarrow.

Once you’ve added nutrients back into the soil, go ahead and plant any herbs, flowers and veggies of your choice. Add pea straw mulch to keep these young plants warm during the end of winter, spreading it evenly and not too close to the stems to avoid rot.

Bees help pollinate your plants and are a great asset to your garden, especially your veggie patch, as they can help increase your yearly yield. 

To attract more bees, plant as many bee-attracting flowering plants as possible. A few examples of bee-attracting plants include nemesia, daisies and fragrant herbs like lavender, oregano and rosemary.

If you want to go the extra mile, add a bee hotel to your garden. A bee hotel is a place for bees to take shelter if they have been caught out in bad weather and don’t have time to return to their hive. It’s small enough to allow them to rest safely, where no birds or larger insects can get to them. To install a bee hotel, simply place it near your flowers or attach it to a tree.

Lastly, your garden might have a few pots that have seen better days. Revamp them by placing them in a spot with full sun and planting some hardy citrus.