Winter is over and now it is time to start planning your garden for the spring and summer months before the cold weather returns in seven months time.
The first thing you will need to do is to plant your flowering bulbs for the sunny months ahead. Ironically the best day to plant the bulbs is when it is wet and windy as the soil will be moist and full of nutrients to give the flower bulbs the help they need to flower.
Next you need to clean up your flower beds of weeds and dead leaves and if there are any dead flowers and plants from the previous year.
Now you will need to wash your greenhouse of all the bacteria and pests which have been in there over winter. Sweep out all the debris off the floor and disinfect the floor and benches with a hot solution of garden disinfectant. Make sure you disinfect the inside of the glass too. Make sure the greenhouse is well ventilated over the next few days so it dries out thoroughly.
Next is the time to hunt down and remove all hibernating pests from your flower beds, flower pots and the whole general garden. Things like slugs, snails and aphids are lethal to your freshly grown flowers, plants and vegetables so you need to find and get rid of as many as you can.
Water butts can be installed in your garden which can collect all the rainfall we get during the summer. This is beneficial to your flowers as it is natural water and has a lot of protein and nutrients which your flowers thrive on. Make sure the water butt is placed below a downpipe so it can collect as much rain water as possible.
Finally you need to create a compost area in your garden. This could be a ready-made compost bin or you can make your own compost bin. This is good as it is a general disposal of all your garden waste but when it is all broken down it is a rich compost of nutrients which your flowers will love. To help keep the compost aerated you will need to turn it each month with a garden fork.
If you follow all the above steps then you will have a garden ready to give you wonderful plants, plants and vegetables throughout spring and summer.