Handy hints for the spring gardener 

From tomato plants to fuchias our tips for your plants and vegetables

 

Some specific plants which need attention now include tomato plants, azeleas, rhododendrons and a few others.

 

On the flower front, a few useful tips follow for the most common flowers which you might have in your garden. It’s also important to deadhead azaleas and rhododendrons and don’t forget to prune those spring flowering shrubs after they have bloomed.

 

Fuchias

 

Look at your fuchias if you have any in your borders or beds. They flower from the ends of their branches, so if you nip out the growing tip, you’ll will encourage more shoots, creating a bushier plant with more lovely blooms.

 

This is the time of the year when spring-flowering clematis can grow and spread rapidly. If your plants are becoming a little unmanageable, prune them after flowering. You can also then use cuttings to create new plants.

 

Vegetable Patch

 

On to vegetables, these are reminders which are particularly relevant now. It’s the right time to plant out greenhouse grown runner beans and, if relevant, sow them at the base of wigwams to about 5 cms in depth. For best results keep them well watered.

 

Tomato Plants

 

If you’ve got tomato plants, you should now be continually nipping out the side shoots to maximize the amount of food available to the fruit bearing branches.

 

Lawn Care

 

For your lawn, start cutting your grass weekly. This is because long grass takes more nutrients out of the soil. That’s apart from the fact that long grass is much harder to cut and can leave unsightly yellow patches in the lawn. To keep the lawn healthy, you can apply weed and/or feed products but remember to water liberally after a few days if it hasn't rained (and there’s no hose-pipe ban!).

 

Ponds

 

Talking of water, if you have one, your pond could have started to turn green and cloudy. Warmer spring weather causes an increase in algae so with the weather we’ve been enjoying this is particularly relevant. Once pond plants start to grow again, especially the oxygenating ones, these will absorb nutrients, create shade and thereby reduce the amount of algae.