Top tips for early spring in your garden

As gardens are bursting into life again, keep ahead of the game with a few quick and easy ideas for March.

• Moss is again prevalent on lawns this year after the mild and wet autumn and early spring. If this worries you, lawn sand with ferrous sulphate will kill it and turn the moss black. This makes it easy to rake off. Alternatively a feed, weed and mosskiller granular application is a more popular easy step to a better lawn.
• This is your last chance until the autumn to plant root-balled or bare-rooted hedging. Generally these are cheaper than pot-grown specimens, so they are especially useful for larger areas. When planting, use Rootgow mycorrhizal fungi around the roots to stimulate healthy growth.
• Mulch beds and borders. Fork in compost or manure, or just leave on top of the soil – “no dig” is becoming more popular and works well. Let time and worms do the hard work for you! If it’s an area likely to be neglected cover with a layer of bark chips to retain moisture and prevent weeds taking hold.
• Greenhouses show their full benefit in early spring. Even an unheated glasshouse will provide excellent protection for young seedlings and tender plants from battering winds and drenching rain. Higher light and warmth levels will help germination and early growth, and late frosts can be thwarted with a covering of fleece.
• Plant climbers now for maximum benefit this summer. As well as clematis and jasmin, consider the more exotic campsis, passiflora (passion flower), and abutilon. When planted early in a sunny position they will give excellent colour from mid-July from unique and unusual flowers.

David Hogg,

Buckland Nurseries