Spring Clean Your Garden!
John and I have just celebrated our first
anniversary in our house, and after a year in South West France, we’re still getting used to the climate over
here. There have been plenty of cold, wet days this winter, but it’s also been lovely and mild on many days, and
we’ve enjoyed
absolutely loads of bright blue skies that make me feel so grateful to be
living in such a beautiful part of the world! It feels like spring is just
around the corner, with some trees and shrubs in bud and spring bulbs poking
through. We’ll all soon be
busy enjoying our gardens, with lots of lovely seed sowing and planting, but
before this time, it’s really useful to do some groundwork: a really good spring clean, for a
tidy, orderly garden, that will pave the way for a successful spring and summer
growing season.
Pest Patrol
As the weather grows warmer, pests re- emerge, so it’s a good idea to make regular pest patrols, as early infestations can often be removed by hand, avoiding or at least reducing, the over-use of insecticides. Inspect crowns of perennial plants for overwintering pests such as slugs, snails and aphid colonies. Inspect pots and containers and compost heaps for vine weevil larvae. As with dealing with the other big garden nuisance – weeds - the more proactive you are in dealing with this continuous problem, the easier your ongoing management will be.
As the weather grows warmer, pests re- emerge, so it’s a good idea to make regular pest patrols, as early infestations can often be removed by hand, avoiding or at least reducing, the over-use of insecticides. Inspect crowns of perennial plants for overwintering pests such as slugs, snails and aphid colonies. Inspect pots and containers and compost heaps for vine weevil larvae. As with dealing with the other big garden nuisance – weeds - the more proactive you are in dealing with this continuous problem, the easier your ongoing management will be.
Pruning
Pruning is a really important part of looking after your plants, and gives your garden a neat, tidy look too.
Leggy plants are not attractive, and regular trimming will keep them in shape. Winter-flowering heathers can be trimmed now, as the flowers disappear. Prune lavender, as well, ensuring that you trim the new growth only and don’t cut into the old wood (this would stop new shoots from developing). Lavenders benefit from bi-annual pruning, in the spring and the autumn, to keep them in shape. If you look after them, these fragrant, pollinator-friendly plants will last for years. They’re low maintenance and do really well over here in France.
Pruning is a really important part of looking after your plants, and gives your garden a neat, tidy look too.
Leggy plants are not attractive, and regular trimming will keep them in shape. Winter-flowering heathers can be trimmed now, as the flowers disappear. Prune lavender, as well, ensuring that you trim the new growth only and don’t cut into the old wood (this would stop new shoots from developing). Lavenders benefit from bi-annual pruning, in the spring and the autumn, to keep them in shape. If you look after them, these fragrant, pollinator-friendly plants will last for years. They’re low maintenance and do really well over here in France.
Prune summer-flowering deciduous shrubs, e.g. Hydrangea paniculata, Lavatera, Leycesteria, Perovskia, hardy fuchsias, and deciduous Ceanothus, and renovate overgrown deciduous hedges, before the birds start nesting. Don’t prune spring-flowering shrubs just yet though - wait until after they have flowered.
Pollard (hard
prune) shrubs such as Cornus and Salix, before
the leaves begin to appear on the stems. This encourages vigorous new growth
and augments the stem
colour, which will give you intense,
vibrant winter interest which you’ll really appreciate later in the year.
Also prune hardy evergreen hedges; vines such as Ivy, Virginia Creeper/Boston Ivy (to keep windows, gutters and roof tiles clear); overwintered fuchsias (back to one or two buds on each shoot); winter flowering shrubs such as Mahonia and vibrunum x bodnatense, after they’ve finished flowering; and winter flowering jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) after flowering (cut back the previous year’s growth to 5cm from the old wood to encourage new growth for next year’s blooms).
Also prune hardy evergreen hedges; vines such as Ivy, Virginia Creeper/Boston Ivy (to keep windows, gutters and roof tiles clear); overwintered fuchsias (back to one or two buds on each shoot); winter flowering shrubs such as Mahonia and vibrunum x bodnatense, after they’ve finished flowering; and winter flowering jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) after flowering (cut back the previous year’s growth to 5cm from the old wood to encourage new growth for next year’s blooms).
If you have any
variegated evergreens, remove any reverted (purely green) shoots, to safeguard
the variegation, otherwise the green shoots will become dominant, as they grow
more quickly and vigorously than the variegated shoots.
When you have
finished pruning, mulch and feed all of those plants, to assist with their
post-pruning growth spurt.
Cut back grasses and perennials
Perennials and ornamental grasses that you left for winter interest should be cut back now before new growth begins. Clip them to within a few centimetres of the ground to enable vigorous, healthy new growth.
Divide and plant bulbs “in the green”Perennials and ornamental grasses that you left for winter interest should be cut back now before new growth begins. Clip them to within a few centimetres of the ground to enable vigorous, healthy new growth.
Once bulbs such as Galanthus (snowdrops) have finished flowering, you can lift and divide them. Planting “in the green” means after they’ve finished flowering but before the leaves have died down. This helps with moisture absorption and getting established in the new planting position.
When tidying up your spring bulbs over these next few months, don’t cut back the foliage like you do with grasses and perennials. Deadhead your bulbs as the flowers begin to fade, but leave the foliage to die down naturally, as this will allow the energy to return from the plant back into the bulb.
Weeding
I know that I’m always saying “Go and do some weeding,” but as we all know, it’s an ongoing task, and really is a spring cleaning essential. As the days lengthen and the weather warms up, the increased daylight and warmer temperatures will encourage weed growth, so get on top of it now! You’ll never have a totally weed-free garden, but the more weeds you can remove before they go to seed and spread themselves all over the place, the easier it will be to keep on top of it throughout the oncoming season. Do a thorough job and make sure you pull perennial weeds out by the root to prevent re-growth.
I know that I’m always saying “Go and do some weeding,” but as we all know, it’s an ongoing task, and really is a spring cleaning essential. As the days lengthen and the weather warms up, the increased daylight and warmer temperatures will encourage weed growth, so get on top of it now! You’ll never have a totally weed-free garden, but the more weeds you can remove before they go to seed and spread themselves all over the place, the easier it will be to keep on top of it throughout the oncoming season. Do a thorough job and make sure you pull perennial weeds out by the root to prevent re-growth.
Remove winter annuals
Now is the time to remove any spent annual plants from your winter planting. At the same time, clear away any remaining debris of leaves and twigs, all of which can be added to your compost pile. Woody material takes a little longer to break down, but you can speed up the process by breaking it up into smaller pieces before adding it to your composter.
Now is the time to remove any spent annual plants from your winter planting. At the same time, clear away any remaining debris of leaves and twigs, all of which can be added to your compost pile. Woody material takes a little longer to break down, but you can speed up the process by breaking it up into smaller pieces before adding it to your composter.
Improve your soil
Once your beds and borders are nice and clear, you can work on your soil condition. Dig in organic matter such as well rotted compost or manure. This is especially important for clay soils, and will improve the soil structure. Don’t dig wet soil though as this is counter-productive and will actually spoil the soil structure. A good rule of thumb is if the soil sticks to your spade then it’s too wet to dig.
Prepare vegetable seed bedsOnce your beds and borders are nice and clear, you can work on your soil condition. Dig in organic matter such as well rotted compost or manure. This is especially important for clay soils, and will improve the soil structure. Don’t dig wet soil though as this is counter-productive and will actually spoil the soil structure. A good rule of thumb is if the soil sticks to your spade then it’s too wet to dig.
I love this bit, as I find growing my own food incredibly rewarding, and look forward to vegetable seed sowing each year. Thoroughly weed your seed beds and fork in plenty of compost. Remove any stones and then rake it to a nice smooth finish. If you want to be really meticulous, you could even sieve the soil!
Direct sow broad beans
OK, so my last 2 points aren’t about spring cleaning at all, but once you’ve done all of your essential prepping, you deserve a bit of the fun stuff, and can get on with some early vegetable gardening, starting with broad beans. They’re a nice early direct sow plant, and while you can follow up with loads of other fabulous vegetables in a few weeks’ time (peas, cabbages, leeks etc) broad beans are the safest ones to start with, and are easy to grow. They’re more tolerant of poor soil conditions than other legumes, but like all the other peas and beans, they will respond well to soil with plenty of organic matter added to it.
Of course, you can sow a greater variety of vegetable seeds immediately, if you do so under cover. However, it’s not a good idea to do too many too early. They can become leggy due to low light levels, there’s additional work and costs involved in caring for them, plus later sowings catch up and grow just as fast. It depends on how much time and space you have and how impatient you are to begin. I like to content myself with the broad beans and a good sort through my seeds, planning my planting schedule and waiting eagerly for just a few more weeks.
Chit potato tubers
The shops are well stocked with a wide range of potato tubers at the minute, and you can choose your favourite varieties, to suit your culinary requirements, with different varieties lending themselves well for use in salads, as mash or as chips etc. They come in 3 broad categories, earlies, second earlies and maincrops(for when you plant and harvest them), and personally, I like to grow at least one variety of each. Whatever you choose, it’s useful (though not essential) to “chit” them prior to planting, as this starts of their growth process, encouraging them to begin sprouting. Place them on end in modular trays (egg boxes or seed trays) in a bright, dry, cool, frost-free place. Position them rose end uppermost (the end with the most eyes) and leave them for 4 – 6 weeks, by which time their short green shoots will be about 2.5cm/1inch long, and they’ll be ready for planting.
Happy gardening everyone. Put in the effort now and then in a few short weeks, the real fun will begin!
Val says and if you do not like the sound of all this work call John in to help!
Comments to taglines82@gmail.com
