Looking after your lawn in spring

Spring is a very important season for looking after your lawn. After the rigours of winter it needs careful attention as soon as the days start to lengthen and the grass starts to grow. Giving the lawn the care it needs now will ensure the best possible results throughout the year.

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Pruning deciduous flowering shrubs (lose leaves in winter)

Deciduous shrubs that flower in spring and early summer need annual pruning to encourage strong, healthy shoots and improve flowering. Annual pruning also prolongs the life of these early-flowering shrubs.

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Tools for pruning and trimming - Shears

Ideal for clipping hedges and topiary, shears are also practical for deadheading heathers, lavenders and cutting back herbaceous plants. There are several different designs: ‘sheep shears’ are ideal for fine-detail topiary.

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Pruning evergreen shrubs (leaves stay on the plant all year round)

Once established, most evergreen shrubs are fairly low maintenance and need little or no regular pruning. Pruning, when required, is generally carried out in mid to late spring and will normally improve the health, vigor and shape of the shrub.

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Autumn / Winter Lawn Care Advice

Autumn is an important season for taking care of your lawn. It is important to use the last months of the growing season to strengthen and prepare the lawn for the winter. The effort put into a lawn in autumn will improve the quality and health of the lawn right through into the following spring and beyond.

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Planting Advice - Soil preparation

As your hedge will be in place hopefully for life then it is essential that the soil is prepared well before planting. Remember the more work you do before planting the easier it will be when you begin planting.
An area of 2-3ft wide is the minimum required to plant a hedge to aid good establishment. Remove any existing weed growth (ideally spraying with weed killer 6-8 weeks prior to planting). Make sure this area is dug over to a minimum depth of 18 inches. Incorporate plenty of organic matter when digging the area (compost/well rotted manure).

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How to plant a hedge - Hedging Plants

Hedging is a continuous line of shrubs or trees that blend together to form a boundary to provide privacy or protection. The type of hedging plants you require will depend on the level of privacy you require (determining the height of the hedge), or the conditions of your garden, (if it is typically windy, for example).

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Improving the condition of your soil

Many gardens do not have great soil conditions.   In order for a wide variety of plants to thrive in, good soil condition can be a vital necessity to have.  We can however improve the soils condition.
Improving the condition of soil consists of 2 main intentions.

1. Improving the structure of the soil so that improvements are made towards retaining moisture and gaining oxygen content.
2. Improving the level of nutritional value to the soil so that the plants can successfully feed of the vital nutrients they require for them to be vigorous and healthy.  Once the structure of the soil is improved then oxygen will enter the soil, which is an essential requirement for plant roots.

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