Catherine

It’s been a colder, drier start to the season than usual. If you have planted any trees or bare root hedging you may need to water them to keep them going until it rains again. However, by the time this article comes out we are probably experiencing a monsoon, so please bear in mind this article was written a month ago!

If you apply a lawn treatment, make sure you water it in well and always use a spreader to apply the treatment. I have seen so many lawns where the treatment has been applied by hand and the lawns have been scorched with the chemicals. Remember you can easily kill grass whilst trying to improve it.

This time of year, there is a huge temptation to plant your pots with bedding plants, we can still experience frosts at the end of May so if you do plant early make sure you protect the plants on cold nights with horticultural fleece.

Why not consider Perennials for the borders instead of annuals, they keep coming back year after year and can provide amazing displays of colour. If you are not sure, then visit your local garden centre during the season and pick out a different plant every month in flower. This way you will have a good display of colour next year that should extend right through the season. For June I would recommend the beautiful Peony, they come in an array of colour and once finished flowering have interesting foliage.

Happy Gardening

Alan Muxlow

So, with the winter hopefully behind us we can begin to think of the warm summer sun and using our gardens again.

If the mild weather has continued, you should be able to start mowing your lawn to some a chore to others an opportunity to create a beautiful, green and lush lawn.

If you find mowing a chore, consider why?

Does it take an hour to start the mower, if so, take it to your local mower shop? Do you mow your lawn and then look at it with you head in shame?

Would it be easier to mow if you simplified the shape or filled in those holes with topsoil and then seed?

From experience when we have created a lawn that is both even and an easy shape to mow, customers take more time as the results make it all worthwhile.

As the shrubs and perennials wake up from the winter, look for holes in the borders to fill.

I love using Perennials to fill gaps and add colour. Try planting Nepeta, Hardy Geraniums, Echinacea purpurea, Alchemilla mollis, Achillea and Echinops. All of them are robust and will flower without much attention. They also won’t mind the odd football being kicked into them! And best of all they will come back year after year.

Continue to feed and provide water for your wild birds, it won’t be long before you will be rewarded with baby birds visiting with Mummy and Daddy bird.

Happy gardening

Alan Muxlow