Spring garden grooming
By Julie Hollobone
Improve the look of your garden this spring with light tasks to promote new plant growth
'Once early flowering plants, such as daffodils, have finished flowering and the leaves start to yellow, they are going into dormancy and can be cut back safely and cleared to allow other plants to use the space.'
Spring in the garden Suddenly there is a lot to do in spring – routine pruning of shrubs, weeding, mulching and planting – but aim to spend time on tidying up the garden after winter and then keeping it in shape to really enjoy the burst of spring colour.
General care – Deadheading Removing flowers from plants as they fade encourages more to grow. It doesn't work for every plant – some just flower once whatever you do – but it can be important for annuals, such as sweet peas and many bedding plants. By removing the spent flowers, seeds aren't formed, so the plant will produce more flowers for a second go. Many hardy perennials, such as lupins or delphiniums, can flower again later if the old flower spikes are removed promptly when flowers fade.
Foliage – cutting back Leaves on early-flowering plants may start do die back quite early in the gardening season. Obvious examples are daffodils and other spring bulbs, where leaving the foliage to yellow and rot can smother smaller treasures or just look unsightly. Once the plants have finished flowering, and the leaves start to yellow, they are going into dormancy and can be cut back safely and cleared to allow other plants to use the space. Many plants can look untidy and spreading after flowering, and some can take an all-over haircut to the base. Water them well and they will grow back as a more compact mound of foliage, possibly followed by further flowers.
Clumps of plants often expand, or climbers extend further each year, and some careful cutting back can keep them under control temporarily.
Bulbs These can be deadheaded once flowering is finished, so that energy isn't wasted on making seed but, instead, is used for increasing the bulbs for next year. Bulbs that have been planted to naturalise and form large colonies can be left to spread by seed. You can cut the foliage down and remove it, once the leaf tips start to yellow, as this indicates that the bulb for next year is now formed and the plant will soon go into dormancy until autumn.
Floppy perennials These need to be identified and some means of support placed around them while their stems are still short and sturdy. You can use canes and string, but better still are semi-circular metal plant supports. If you have the means, you could try weaving supports with twiggy tree or shrub prunings – hazel, hornbeam, beech and birch are good options.
Flowering perennials Old growth on flowering perennials and ornamental grasses needs to be cut down to the ground in early spring, before the new growth gets in the way of the secateurs. This is especially true of grasses such as Miscanthus that hold their faded foliage and flower stems so well through the winter.
Lawns These need some attention after winter and will look a lot better after the first cut. Avoid frozen conditions and cut it longer than usual at first. This will improve the uneven appearance of winter growth and start to strengthen the grass for the forthcoming summer. If the grass is too long before the first cut, it will probably turn yellow before it slowly improves in appearance. Remember to re-cut the edges, if necessary, as it really does make a difference to the appearance.
Weeds These can make paths and patios look untidy, as well as competing with young plants in the flower borders. They will get the upper hand quickly in spring if they aren't sought out and dealt with early on, either by hand weeding or using chemicals.
For further gardening advice, hints and tips, go to www.gardensmonthly.co.uk