Early Spring this should be March but it’s hard to tell, now the huge workload arrives with grass and weeds pushing into growth, the indoor plants start to motor and almost everything needs sowing OUTDOORS

• Examine each and every plant in your care for pests, diseases and dieback before they start to leaf up
• Do any leftover fruit pruning asap before growth resumes and the leaves block your sight
• Prune roses and tender plants, evergreens, herbs and hollow stemmed shrubs such as Bamboos and Buddleijas
• Dead head earlier flowering bulbs to improve their flowering next year
• Weeds start germinating in profusion so hoe early and hoe often, hoe, hoe, hoe and hand weed every where every other week at least
• Apply new mulches now to trap winter moisture underneath
• Add extra mulch on top of any thin ones
• As soon as ground becomes workable plant out evergreens, herbaceous plants, herbs and roses
• Have a snail hunt turning out their haunts and thin numbers before they breed and multiply
• For really green lawn, pee in the watering can, dilute well and apply often
• Give your grass the first cut with blade set really high to remove tussock forming grasses before they get stronger, next time lower it a tad, and so on
• Cut the grass at least fortnightly, preferably weekly, collect the clippings to put around fruit trees and bushes, roses and shrubs
• Move, lay, sow and repair turf in non-frosty weather
• Over-sow bare bits of grass with seed and rake it in, use tough recreation seed not fine or fancy
• Add a measure of seaweed solution to all your watering to provide trace elements as your plants start to get moving
• Spray everything in the garden with dilute seaweed solution to act as a tonic
• Cut first leaves of comfrey, borage and stinging nettles to rot into liquid feed to give to spring greens and plants in pots
• Stop feeding nuts to birds as they may choke chicks, feed bread crusts, and fats, don’t forget the bird-bath needs clean water
• Although it may be raining plants with large foliage in small pots may stay dry and need watering as they start growing strongly
• Nip off new stinging nettle tips, with gloves, fry with bacon for tasty treat
• Pull stinging nettles and other weeds as they come back to life