Get your garden ready for spring

A little attention now can help your garden come back healthy and full of colour this spring.

Spring is almost here and the garden is beginning to show it with new growth appearing and winter-flowering plants heading into their final stretch. This makes now a good time to get outside and give the garden some attention so that your plants and lawn are primed for the warmer months ahead.

Keep the flowers coming

Pansies and violas have given you loads of joy and plenty of colour through the cooler months and a little maintenance can help them keep flowering into spring.

Remove faded or dead flowers regularly by pinching or snipping them off. This is known as deadheading and it encourages the plant to put more energy into new flowers instead of seeds. While you’re there, remove any yellowing or damaged leaves and give the plant a general tidy-up.

Give flowering annuals a boost

Spring growth takes energy, so this is also a good time to start feeding flowering annuals. A liquid plant food is an easy way to provide nutrients that are quickly accessible to plants that are actively growing. Garden Master’s Liquibloom liquid fetiliser can be used as part of your regular spring garden care to support new growth and flowering. Always follow the application and dilution instructions on the product, because adding extra fertiliser won’t necessarily give you better results. What a waste!

Give tall plants some support

Spring may be approaching, but August and September can still bring strong winds. Tall flowering plants like delphiniums can easily be damaged or blown over, particularly when they are carrying heavy flower heads. Stake them before they get too tall and tie the stems loosely to the support, leaving enough room for movement and growth.

It is much easier to support a plant early than to try to rescue it after the wind has flattened it.

Put down a layer of mulch

We love mulch and it is particularly useful at this time of year. A layer around your plants can provide some extra protection from the last of the winter cold while also helping the soil hold onto moisture as temperatures rise. It can also help reduce weeds by limiting the amount of light reaching weed seeds near the soil surface.

Leave a little space around plant stems rather than piling mulch directly against them or you could end up with rotting stems.

Wake up your lawn

If winter has left your lawn looking tired, now is the time to start thinking about its spring recovery. Feeding and the right spring treatment will encourage fresh growth as temperatures warm up and your lawn moves back into its active growing season.

Not sure where to start? Builders has a useful Spring Treatment for Lawns video that teaches you what those numbers on the fertiliser bag mean and shows you how to revive a lawn after winter and prepare it for the season ahead.

Haven’t pruned your roses yet?

If rose pruning is still sitting on your gardening to-do list, don’t leave it much longer.

Pruning removes old or unproductive growth and helps encourage the strong new shoots that will carry the season’s flowers. Cut away dead or damaged stems, then shape the plant so that it has room for healthy new growth.

Once that is done, your roses will be in a much better position to put on a good spring display.

Get your garden ready for the season ahead

Spring gardens don’t happen overnight. What you do now can make a big difference to how your garden looks in the months ahead. A little maintenance now will help your plants move into spring in better shape and give your lawn a stronger start to the new season.
Visit Builders, either online at builders.co.za or at your local store, for everything you need to get your garden ready for spring.