Garden Health Pre Spring

With spring in the air it’s a wonderful and rewarding time in the garden. Every shoot that pushes through the cold soil heralds the start of the growing season; Gardeners across the land are simply raring to go.

Don’t be too hasty to get started sowing, there is plenty of preparation and planning that you can do now that will save you hours in the long run and its important not to overlook the beauty of the season before the spring madness starts.

The clear crisp pre-spring daylight is lengthening, illuminating the plant treasures that star during this part of the year. Look out for scented winter flowers, divine coloured plant stems and peeling tree bark that glows in the pure sunlight. It won’t be long before the trees are once again clothed in leaves and the garden borders full of fresh, lush foliage, so take time to appreciate the bare beauty of the garden and the many underrated structural elements of the garden. Take stock of any empty gaps and use your time looking at the overall structure of the garden.

There are some beautiful plants that star during January. A visit to your local garden centre or nursery will reveal a variety of winter wonders that you can plant and grow this month or take a look in local gardens to see what is flourishing in your area and which plants perform well now, while others lay dormant.

For the gardener now is a time of planning and preparation, but what you can achieve depends very much upon the weather. When it is very cold and even frosty it’s best to avoid walking on most parts of the garden and much better to use your time more creatively indoors, planning ahead, designing and ordering seeds. When the weather is dry and perhaps a little milder it’s the perfect time to get ahead a little and make strides before the season starts in earnest.

There’s actually a lot that you can achieve this month. Whether its starting to sow a few seeds (seed sowing) or starting off some seed potatoes ready for planting (growing potatoes), these are all things that will stand you in good stead when spring arrives. Plant up a winter container to add interest to the depths of winter, or simply plant a couple of shrubs that are flowering or in-season now (winter interest plants). Fill a bare patch in the border; you’ll be surprised what a difference it can make.
Whatever you do be sure to check out our gardener’s forum, it’s designed to help you through any gardening dilemmas and is THE place to share ideas, tips and information on Garden Health.