'Spring' your garden into action with organic matter

Now we’re motoring into spring and longer days we can also expect every type of weather from warm sunshine to blizzards normally associated with the tundra. 

On those sunny or dry days get out there and do some preparation, and when it's too cold or wet then that’s a great time to get prepared by getting in things like compost and seed. 

Gardening is much more exciting when you've got everything on site and you can get your hands covered in soil without having to nip out to the garden centre and bump into people you don’t know that well and waste half a day explaining your life away. 

Adding organic material to the beds is a must at this time of year and it will help if you can do it in stages. 

Get enough either delivered or brought home to cover 10 cm and then once it has arrived, wait for a lovely day to cover the beds. Your back will thank you for separating the task! Seaweed, bought compost, well rotted manure or home made compost are all good additions if you can get them. 

Once this is done you might need to rejuvenate your spring planting with the addition of primulas, huecheras, pulmonarias and tellimas grandiflora. 

Start some hard hardy annuals off in modules indoors whether that’s the greenhouse or a windowsill. Scabious, Calendula varieties, Cerinthe, and Ammi Majus will all help increase the colour palette of your borders. I've also found in our warmer climate in the South West Calendula (particularly Indian Prince), can very nearly be in flower all year round. 

Treat yourself to some irises if you don’t have any. You could pot some miniature ones up for a patio such as ‘Katherine Hodgson’ which is a speckled deep mauve blue colour.  ‘George’ is another variety that is just as hardy and reliable. 

On the Plot 

If you’ve been fantasising about an asparagus bed, which many people seem to do from my limited research, order some ‘crowns’ now ready to plant in March/April time. Once they are established you’ll start to enjoy looking after them as much as eating them. 

Prepare a bed now by adding manure to a trench of half a spade’s depth and 30cm across. 

When they arrive, which will be around planting time, make a mound along the centre of the trench to drape the roots across either side. 

Simply cover with the remaining soil and water them in and mulch the top of the bed. Asparagus are greedy plants and love to be kept weed free. If you’re having several rows then make them 30cm apart or enough space to hoe between. They will take a year to give you a small harvest and the second year you’ll really be in business. 

They have very shallow roots so can dry out quickly in hot weather so watering and mulching will help them get through to the next harvest. If you are someone who likes to obsess over the care they offer specific plants and that is an entirely good thing in my book, then keeping asparagus is for you. 

Now we’ve seen a tiny glimpse of spring, you can guarantee animals and insects will be looking to earn a living in the garden. I've already seen a bumblebee meandering over the lawn in the search for nectar and a nesting spot. Think about giving wildlife a helping hand so they can help us. 

Birds love grated cheese, (particularly mild cheddar) which will help fatten them up for breeding season. Even half an upturned apple will give them a lift when they’re flying over looking for food. You know spring is almost here when blackbirds start to sing and robins are chasing each other along and through the hedgerows like their life depended on it.