Spring is in the air and before you know it, your garden will be an abundance of life once again.

This time of year is all about preparation so you can enjoy a beautiful garden later. With that in mind, follow our top tips to get your garden in shape, ready for the growing season ahead.

Clean Up

Autumn and winter will not have been kind to your garden. Having been exposed to the elements and inclement weather, begin by clearing your garden and lawn of broken branches, leaves, and other debris left behind during the past number of months.

Take care of maintenance & repairs

This time of year is ripe for taking care of repairs, hard landscaping, painting, and any other work on the garden. Getting fence repairs, powerwashing and other jobs out of the way now will stop it from interfering with the plants when they are growing.

Prep your tools

Give your garden tools a thorough clean – after all they have been stored away in the shed, unused for months.

The same can be said for your lawnmower, it’s been locked away for months too. Before you take out your lawnmower make sure it’s in proper working order. At the very least, give your machine a good clean and sharpen the blades. Better yet, take it for a full professional service.

Get beds and borders ready for planting

If the soil is dry enough you can start digging to prepare the beds for spring planting; turn the soil over with a pitchfork and rake it out, clearing any weeds that may have grown.

Don’t attempt this with wet, heavy soil as it will compact the clay and make planting more difficult.

You can also add fresh compost or manure to add nutrients to the soil. You will want to introduce compost or manure a couple of weeks before planting something, so it has time to mix well with your soil, preventing the possibility of burning the roots of your new plants.

Make a Plan

Check which flowers and vegetables are suited best to your garden. You can also get planting recommendations from your local garden centre.

Don’t Forget to Maintain It

Upkeep during the whole season is key. Once your flowers start to bloom you will need to deadhead to promote more flowers (depending on the species). Late spring is also an opportune time to put down a nice layer of mulch on the garden. This will help hold down weeds while retaining water for the summer days ahead. It also will break down over next autumn and winter, helping to add nutrients to the soil.