Border control

Don’t get caught out by spring, now is the time to dig over your garden and root out those plants that are too untidy or just no longer make the cut

It’s a good idea to add some soil conditioner such as compost or farmyard manure to the mix too.

This enriches the soil with nutrients and gives it more structure ready for the coming season.

Now get your planning hat on. A notepad and pencil are the tools you need.

Imagine what you want to see – colours, particular plants, structure in terms of size and height – and jot it all down in your notepad. garden centre and see what they have that is currently in flower and grown in containers.

If you’re looking to create a border that will change with the seasons – but will not need constant replanting – then you might have to do a bit of forward thinking.

You can either plan the year now by looking at what plants flower month by month, or take a more unplanned approach, going to the garden centre once a month and buying a new perennial in bloom that catches your eye.

By this time next year you’ll have a border that evolves through the seasons without you having to replant. If you want to prepare first, check out my website at daviddomoney.com.

There you’ll find my rundown of the top flowering plants for every month of the year, which may help you to make your decisions.

Before you start planting, you might want to lay a weed fabric across your border to give you a little less work throughout the year.

Cut holes in it where you want to plant, and then add a layer of bark chip, or composted bark chip, on top.

This mulch will insulate the soil and, most importantly, it will also help to keep the weeds down.

Finally, it’s time to tidy up all the edges.

Where borders butt up to the grass, get to work with a lawn edger to leave a crisp finish.

Having neat boundaries between lawn and border really makes a huge difference to the look.

Whatever styles and methods you choose to go for, there’s no doubt a freshly manicured border is the jewel in the crown of any garden.

Get stuck in now and, come spring, you’ll reap the dividends.