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ITH some beautiful spring weather this week, many of us are stepping out into the garden for the first time this year. It’s great to be outdoors again and there’s plenty to do. One of your first jobs will be pruning, so locate your secateurs, loppers and gloves, and assess what needs to be done.

There are a number of shrubs which will benefit from the chop in March, but others, such as forsythia, ribes and kerria, should be left alone to get on with flowering this spring.

So here’s my guide to what needs to be done now: One of the most frequently asked question from readers is about when to prune hydrangeas. The most commonly planted hydrangeas are mopheads and lacecaps.

As these flower on last year’s wood, you don’t want to remove much of the stem – just cut back to the first pair of healthy buds.

Though it’s tempting to do this later Make sure you don’t remove too much of the stem – just cut back to the first pair of healthy buds in the year when the flowers have finished and gone brown, it’s better to leave these flowers over winter as they provide some protection from frost damage to the buds.

With established bushes, it’s a good idea to cut back one or two of the older stems to ground level – this will encourage new shoots which won’t flower this year but will next year. There are some hydrangeas which don’t require any major pruning, such as H. aspera, which has velvety leaves, and H. quercifolia, a beautiful species with oak-like leaves that have great autumnal colour. If, like me, you enjoy the drama of pruning right to the ground, find a tree mallow (Lavatera) and do just this.

They can be reduced right back to about six inches above ground – this is a job for the loppers. Pruning hard will encourage new shoots which will bear blooms in late summer.

The same applies to hardy fuchsia, perovskia, caryopteris and spiraea – these you can really take back to almost ground level.

It may seem harsh, but it keeps the shrub to a manageable size and is good for its health and promoting flowering.

You don’t want to do it much earlier than now as there is a risk of a hard frost damaging tender new shoots.

Lavender is a short-lived bush but to get your maximum value out of it, an annual pruning is essential as it quickly becomes scraggly and leggy.

This is a job you may have done after flowering in the summer, but if not, you can clip back now. The key thing here is not to cut into old wood as new shoots will not spring from this, so just cut back most of last year’s growth.

Shrub roses should be cut back now before new growth commences. Wear gloves for this thorny operation. You’ll reduce the stems to about six inches above ground, making the cut just above a bud. It can appear a bit drastic as you’re just left with some stubby-looking stems, but it’s just what the rose needs to kick it into action. Be brave!

Buddleia bushes can be pruned back very hard now to around a woody base of about 12 inches. This only applies to the B. davidii types.

Buddleia globosa, the wonderful orange ball tree, doesn’t require much in the way of pruning – perhaps a light removal of flowers after flowering.

Buddleja alternifolia shouldn’t be touched now either as hard pruning would remove the flower buds. You can prune this after flowering, cutting back about a third of each stem.

When you have completed all of this, the next job will be feeding and mulching around the newly-pruned shrubs, but you can leave that until next week. For now, take a break, admire your handiwork and enjoy the start of spring in your garden. It’s important to reduce rose stems to about 6ins above ground, making the cut just above a bud B. davidii types of buddleia bushes can be pruned back very hard now to a woody base of about 12ins Annual pruning is essential as lavender quickly becomes scraggly. Chop back most of last year’s growth – don’t cut into old wood or new shoots won’t appear