Gardening with Pat Duke: Learn that classic gardening skill called ‘nicking ideas’

The sound of cranking mowers and buzzing strimmers tells us it’s gardening time.

Regular maintenance is one thing to uplift the soul, but there is also a much more fulfilling creative process to be getting on with.

April is about blossom and bulbs where nature is subtly telling us it’s getting warmer and brighter.

Some people I know walk past gardens and think ‘I wish mine would look like that’. Well, now is the time to do some research for what to plant next spring while everything is on display.

A day out to a renowned garden is ideal for this as most plants are labelled so you don’t have to run the gauntlet of asking a homeowner about plants when you’re caught admiring their handiwork.

In Japan, the first cherry blossom is highly anticipated and there are hundreds of genus ranging from small patio varieties, weeping ones (Prunus Cheap’s Weeping or P. subhirtella Pendula Rubra) for a front lawn or the more practical and robust morello tree.

When the daffodils are giving way to tulips, it might seem odd to be thinking about next spring, but it’s worth assessing your own spring beds and comparing them to professionally researched and planted gardens. It’s that classic gardening skill called ‘nicking ideas’.

Take some photos of the spring bulbs to remember where you planted them and order exactly what you want early so you aren't left ordering one variety from a bulk catalogue.

It’s madness to think of all the varieties of narcissus that can flower between December and May and we only put one variety in. It’s this type of planning that makes a garden complex rather than simply colourful.

A more straightforward task if you’re too busy for time-heavy research is just to divide the primroses and try and create a sweep of them across an area.

ON THE PLOT

Continuing the garden enthusiasm that the Easter break triggers, sowing vegetable seeds should not be overlooked in this window where the garden is in sharp focus.

Separate the plot into three strips, one for brassicas, another for roots and the third for everything else such as onions. leeks, lettuce, beans and outdoor varieties of cucumber and tomatoes.

Next year rotate the plot clockwise in the direction of roots replacing the brassicas. This way it will keep the soil healthy.

Follow the instructions on the seed packet and sow in straight lines if you can and mark with a tight line of string. All your neighbours will interpret this as you being organised and know what you're doing when in actual fact you’re preparing to locate the emerging seedlings in between the future bullying weeds.

Continue to grow lettuce and other seeds under glass if you can to drop in the plot to succession sow every three weeks or so. Budget for feeding the slugs and snails and also take measure to deter them other than putting tiny ‘keep off’ signs as they will blatantly ignore these.

Don’t worry too much about planting distances as they always assume you have a country house-sized garden. They really won’t be stunted for the sake of a few centimetres away from each other.

Us gardeners buck the modern trend that focusses on fast pace and trying to not move wherever possible. We plan for next year and place value in slowly nurturing plants or even waiting for them to appear.

Progress is not merely the passing of time and moving into the future, sometimes progress is returning to an activity that worked well in the past.

This is particularly prevalent when we think about the current mental health epidemic and how slowing down in the garden can be part of improving healthy lifestyles.

It’s glorious out there in spring so try and get out there as much as you can.