Spring has made a welcome arrival and your garden will be starting to come alive again! It’s time to start planting spring crops and get your piece of paradise into tip top shape for the warmer months. As the soil warms up spring bulbs and plants begin to flower and sprout their fresh new spring growth. It’s time to get stuck in and plant all your favourite spring/summer flowers and get your vegetable garden underway.
GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS
CHERRIES, PEARS, CAMELLIAS, RHODODENDRONS, MANY OTHER SPRING-FLOWERING SHRUBS, TULIPS, SPRING BEDDING SCHEMES.
ORNAMENTAL GARDEN
Plant
The following can be sown direct – alyssum, antirrhinum, calendula, candytuft, Canterbury Bells, clarkia, cornflower, eschscholzia, godetia, linum, and sweetpea (if the weather stays warm the following can be sown – coreopsis, hollyhock, larkspur, mignotte, morning glory, nasturtium and nemesia). In the same gardens, plant out well-hardened seedlings of pansies, violas and ten-week stocks. If the threat of frost has past, plant a further batch of gladiolus corms. Replant violets as they finish flowering. Divide and replant Iris innominata and pyrethrums. Fuchsias (with protection where nessary) also all hardy evergreens, but leave half-hardy kinds until later.
Fertilise
Continue to give liquid feeds throughout the flower borders.
Watch for
Aphids on new growth, especially on roses.
EDIBLE GARDEN
Plant
Artichokes (globe, Jerusalem), asparagus, beets (red and silver), broccoli (early), brussels spouts, cabbages (early summer ballhead), cauliflower (all year round), carrots, lettuces, leeks, onions (all kinds – seeds or plants), parsnips, peas, potatoes, spinach (round seeded).
Fertilise
Apply compost generously for new vegetable plantings. If soil is poor, add some pelleted manure or general fertiliser. Give new plants a watering with liquid manure, repeating again later if growth is not very vigorous.
Watch for
Slugs and snail and aphids.
GARDEN MAINTENANCE
Watering
Make sure newly planted shrubs have ample moisture at all times.
Lawn Care
Feed established lawns with dry or liquid fertiliser. Prepare ground for planting new lawns and renovating old ones. Seed may be sown as soon as the soil temperature reaches 10°C.
Rose care
Watch for early signs of disease, especially rust, also aphids on tip growth, and spray if neccessary.
Things to do
Prune tropical hibiscus, shortening last season’s shoots by a third. Trim shrubs that have just finished flowering, cutting back shoots that have flowered to a strong bud. Layer azaleas, rhododendrons and magnolias.
Need assistance
Get in touch with the team at Lawn King.
