spring gardening
As the weather becomes more pleasant, we instinctively rush to spend more time outdoors and engage in spring activities in our gardens.
The first signs of greenery start dressing the bare branches of many trees and shrubs. The waft of sweet perfume from many early flowering shrubs begins to fill the air. All of this makes us feel more energised and we make gardening plans for the weeks ahead.
Spring gardening is an activity that we undertake with excitement. Our heads buzzing with ideas, our bodies ready for some physical activity.
Last year I wrote a piece about the importance of gardening, and why we should engage in this activity more often. I also highlighted its often underestimated benefits for our mental and physical health.
With spring clearly on our door step, I would like to encourage more of us to be involved in gardening activities this year.
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been working with a number of clients, where I was guiding them and sharing knowledge on how to look after the garden in spring.
cutting back
We can start our spring gardening by cutting back all the dead stems and foliage of our perennial plants.
I am often asked how low or where to cut, and at what level. I would say, let the plant to be your guide. Observe and see: are there already new shoots forming?
If you see lots of new, fresh growth forming at the base of the plant you can simply cut all the brittle stems together with dried flowers, quite low. Use secateurs or simply snap them off with your fingers.
dividing perennial plants
If you feel like some of your perennial plants have become too big, you might want to look to divide them.
This can be done with perennials that have spreading and more fibrous roots, but not with plants that have a long taproot, similar to carrot for example.
You simply unearth your plant, place the root ball on the ground and using your spade, secateurs or two forks, you split it. You can make quite a few new plants out of one bigger fibrous root perennial plant.
creating a compost heap
At the end of all our spring gardening activity, after all the chopping and cutting back, we are often left with a large amount of dried stems, flowerheads and grasses.
If you have some space in your garden, you might want to create a simple compost heap. I recently built a small wooden compost bin for a client that looked like a bee hive. I am very much looking forward to looking after this compost and creating new soil for the garden.
I would also recommend reading a book by Charles Dowding ‘Compost’. It is a fantastic, step-by-step and easy to follow guide for any novice compost maker.
mulching
If you want to enhance your soil and the biodiversity in your garden, I would encourage you to leave all the dry material that you collected in your garden as a fantastic mulch.
Basically, place all your cuttings on the soil around your plants. You might want to cut the stems into smaller bits.
As your garden starts to grow and mature, this dry material will become absorbed by the soil, improving your soil microbiota.
adding more plants
Spring is also a great time to think about introducing more plants into your garden or creating a new garden border.
I would also encourage you to plant more perennial plants. But, before you rush to purchase any plants for your garden space, check the conditions of your soil and observe how much light this part of your garden gets during the day. Make your plant choice based on what is suitable for these conditions.
Gardening in spring is a very rewarding experience, even if at the end of the day our bodies are tired and hands exhausted from using the secateurs.
It comes from seeing the new growth of many plants unfolding and spotting hints of colour from the many early flowering perennials, that fill our garden borders.
Spring in a garden is time that inspires, motivates and fills us with joyful anticipation.