SPRING IN THE GARDEN

Photo: Forsythia.

Lightly prune mophead and lacecap Hydrangeas. Take off old flower heads just above a strong pair of buds. Remove spindly twigs. On old bushes take out the stems that are a few years old by cutting them down to ground level.

Plant evergreens now as the soil is warming up. This will activate the roots when they are planted. The garden centres are getting well stocked with healthy looking specimens.

Prune Buddleia, the butterfly bush anytime now. Don’t be put off if there is fresh new growth, hack them back anyway. Theses bushes are brittle and the branches tend to snap if they aren’t pruned right down. The flowers come on this year’s growth anyway. There are a couple of exceptions to the rule though. There is the Buddleia globosa, which has orange ball shaped flowers, and Buddleia alternifolia, which has a weeping, habit. These both flower on last years growth and should only be lightly pruned.

The forsythia’s look great at the moment with their bright yellow flowers. When they have finished flowering these will benefit by being pruned back too. They tend to get overlooked otherwise.

Dig up and divide Hostas before the leaves get too big. Slice through the roots with a spade.

A job that we’ve been doing this week is trimming back winter flowering heathers, taking off the old flowers and trimming the small shrubs into shape.

Pick off the old flower heads from pansies; the plants will flower for longer. Remove the dead flowers from the daffodils as well; they produce seed, which will weaken the plant for next year.

If you have been over wintering Fuchsia plants on your windowsill then the fresh shoots can be picked off and either put into compost to root or placed in a jar of water, the root very easily and will produce a fine plant for summer colour.

Lift, divide and replant chives for a healthy crop throughout the year.

If you have fruit bushes, pull the encroaching grass from the stems and mulch well with any well rotted compost.

Be patient when it comes to clipping back the silver foliage plants in the garden that have been damaged by frost. Shrubs such as ceanothus, salvia, phlomis and artemisia, all have the ability to layer themselves from fallen stems lying on the soil. This can be cut next month to produce some new plants.



Horticultural.