Counting down the days to spring

I love all the seasons but this year I’m really ready for spring. Maybe it’s due to a winter spent in lockdown or because I can’t help but feel sleepy as soon as it gets dark or maybe it’s because I’m just itching to see all my plants in bloom again. Whatever he reason, the minute I see snowdrops on the ground, I can almost smell spring in the air. It may still technically be winter and more frost and snow is expected but now I have a garden to tend to, it’s time to get started in prepping for spring.

What am I doing to get ready for the new season ahead?

1. Prepping tools
Now is a good time to get all your tools out and give them a clean, check for damage or replace any that died their death last year. A good dose of rubbing alcohol (which oh so many of us bought at the start of the pandemic with the intention of making our own hand sanitiser) is great for cleaning.

2. Pruning
I’ve come to realise that pruning is an art form and you have to be heavier handed that might seem natural, or as my boyfriend constantly has to remind me “show no mercy”. Prune anything you didn’t already get to at the start of the winter or in January. One example that I left until this month was my heather.

3. Seed sowing
I’ve got to be honest, this isn’t something I’ve done since I was a child. Years without a garden gets you out of practice with gardening but I’ve been watching with envy all those people excitedly starting to sow their seeds. For me though, this is a project for next year.

4. Get ordering
After last year, I’m taking no risks and plan to order compost nice and early. What I’ve learned is you will almost always need at least one more bag of compost than expected. Let’s face it, it’s one of those things you can do with always having around anyway.

5. Post-winter tidying
At the moment I feel like most of my time in the garden is spent tidying. Raking the last of the fallen leaves, pulling up saplings that have taken root after falling from a tree in the local park, trimming overgrowth, deadheading anything that was neglected during winter and even pouring boiling water on some of the weeds growing through the pavement (this is contentious, I know, but sometimes you have to choose your battles with loved ones).

So, that’s what I’m focusing on in the garden this month. For a lot more in depth information, I recommend reading The Royal Horticultural Society’s Gardening Through The Year by Ian Spence – it’s my go-to, especially at those inbetween times when I’m not entirely sure what more I could be doing.