While your calendar may show that it is mid-winter, for avid gardeners that shouldn’t hold them back from planning their garden. Spring can sneak up on you, and if you aren’t prepared, suddenly you’ve missed that window of opportunity to prep, plant, and make your garden the spectacular oasis you had been dreaming of.
With that in mind, here are 10 invaluable gardening planning tips for spring.
Create a Design Layout
Just as you would create a layout for a room if you were renovating it, you can do the same for your garden. Ideally you should keep a running layout that you can refer to year after year, updating it as you add more flowers and bushes, or take things out.
Decide on What New Items You Want to Plant
The next step is to think about what new items you want to plant. It’s best to make a list so that you don’t over-buy or purchase the wrong type of varieties.
Do Your Research on What Works
Be sure to do your research on any plants you are interested in. They need to work for your
sun/shade conditions, climate, amount of available space, and the kind of maintenance you are prepared to undertake.
Plan on Refreshing the Soil
Spring is also the perfect time to refresh your soil. As soon as the spring frost has been and gone, you can fluff up the soil with a good raking, and then top it off with a fresh layer.
Plan on Using Mulch
Start planning on where you want to use mulch, the colour of mulch you want to use, and how much you’ll need to give a proper covering.
Trim and Tidy Up the Perennials
Once the temperatures start to warm up a bit, usually around early spring, it’s time to address the perennials. This is the time for trimming any that are overgrown, re-shaping them, and dividing them to plant elsewhere in your garden.
Bare Rooted Plants Go in Early
If you will be planting any bare rooted plants such as trees, roses, shrubs, soft fruit, and top fruit, these need to be in the ground by March 17th as a general rule.
Divide Bulbs After They Flower
It's always exciting to see those spring bulbs flower, as they are the first true sign of spring. Once they do finish flowering however, that is the time to divide them and replant them.
Get Your Vegetables Started Indoors
For anyone who wishes to plant vegetables in the spring, you actually need to get started in the winter months. Many vegetable seeds can be planted indoors and then transferred outside once the weather allows.
Don’t Forget the Lawn
While not exactly classified as “gardening”, your lawn is also part of the outdoor experience. Spring is also a great time for giving it a little TLC. You can start by raking it and fluffing up the grass, allowing for proper drainage. Make sure that first lawn cutting is with a mower that has a sharp blade to keep the grass healthy. You can also fertilise and seed the lawn with a spring mix.
Each of these tips will give you the jump start you need for a spectacular garden.
