COVER Get your garden ready for spring

Follow our easy gardening tips and latest outdoor style advice

1 Scatter a pinch of annual seeds in the soil. They grow superfast and as the flowers only last until the end of summer it’s a good chance to experiment with something different for a change. Try zinnias or marigolds for zingy-hued, starburst flowers. Zinnia ‘Purple Prince’ seed and marigold seed, from £1.99 a packet, www.thompson-morgan.com 2 If you plant a clematis in March it will cover a wall by August. Always dig a hole 10cm (4in) deeper than the rootball to protect the plant from clematis wilt. Try clematis ‘Jackmanii’, £6.99, call Jacksons Nurseries on 01782 502741. 3 An easy way of stopping soil spilling out of the drainage holes in flower pots is to line them with a coffee filter paper. 4 Hoeing on a sunny day makes weeds less likely to come back because the displaced seedlings dry out faster in warm weather. 5 Use larger pots for your plants and bedding. They dry out more slowly and so need watering less often. 6 Pop grape hyacinths from indoor pots into the soil when the flowers finish. They’re good for difficult spots, such as under a hedge, creating washes of colour for next spring. 7 Worms help tidy the garden by pulling leaves below the soil surface and aerating the soil. Wormcasts (little whorls of soil) are a sign of a healthy lawn. Brush the soil back into the grass to keep it looking pristine. 8 Spring is the time for thinking ahead. Buy bags of autumnflowering crocus bulbs and plant them 5cm (2in) deep under trees. Also known as colchicums, they will add pops of purple in September and October.

9 Wait until the sun warms the soil before planting out hardy herbs. Although thyme and rosemary will withstand frost, they send out new roots more quickly as the soil gets warmer ultimately making bigger plants that won’t mind regular picking. 10 The quickest way to give your garden a spring tidy is to edge the lawn using a sharp spade. 11 Buy small plants now and by the start of summer you’ll have a big plant that would cost a lot more money to buy. 12 It’s time to start mowing the lawn again when new, green growth appears. Set the blades high for the first cut and only take off the tips of the grass. New growth starts from the middle of the leaf blade. 13 Keep weeds at bay by spreading a layer of mulch between one and three inches deep over your borders. Leave a couple of inches gap around plant stems to stop the roots from rotting. 14 If toadstools pop up and spoil the look of your lawn, sweep them off with a stiff brush. It breaks up the fungi and stops them spreading. Collect them up and throw them away. 15 Clean and sharpen your gardening tools to stop diseases spreading between plants and to make pruning easier. 16 Alliums are garden superstars. With their purple pom-pom heads atop a skinny stem, they make a stylish addition to a deck or patio when placed in pots. You can also plant alliums in borders, either as bulbs in the autumn to flower the following late spring, or buy plants from the garden centre and put them in for a display this year. 17 If you’re choosing a tray of young plants, always pick single colours, or stylish toning shades. Clashing colours sold in a mixed tray can look dated when planted out together. Go for a simple colour palette displayed in contemporary pots and containers. 18 Birds need to drink regularly whether it’s warm or chilly, so top up your bird bath regularly. It’s worth encouraging them because they’ll eat up slugs and snails. 19 Bright light washes out cooler colours, so blue, green and purple plants work best planted in shady areas. 20 Feed your container plants with a general fertiliser, such as blood, fish and bone, so the plants get all the nutrients they need throughout the summer.