Getting Your Garden Ready for Spring

With spring around the corner and perhaps a dull-looking garden – we’re all thinking the same thing! It’s time for a Spring Garden makeover that will brighten up your garden and probably your mood too. Gather your fork and shovel and let’s get straight into it with tips to get your garden ready for Spring.

Tips to Get Your Garden Ready for Spring Season

Pull out the weeds

It is best to eliminate weeds when the ground is still soft from winter as they’ll come out easier than in hard, dry summer soil.

Prune the summer-blooming flowering shrubs

The end of winter to early spring is the best time to prune shrubs that flower from late June through fall.

Fertilize the flower beds

Once the ground thaws, it is best to apply fertilizer around the trees, shrubs, and perennials, remembering to match the product to the plant type.

Inspect the shrubs and trees for damage

Prune off any broken, dead, or storm-damaged branches.

Raking

Rake off or trim any winter-killed, brown leaves from perennial flowers from the previous year and rake or clip off the browned foliage.

Divide perennial flowers

Right before new growth begins it is an ideal time to dig and divide most perennial flowers that are growing beyond where one wants them to.

Raking matted leaves

Rake matted or excessive leaves off the lawn and out of ground cover beds. Leaves that have blown under and around trees, shrubs and perennials can be left as in and mulched over.

Remove winter protection

Remove protective material from around landscape plants that needed the extra winter protection.

Edge beds

The end of winter is a good time to cut sharp edges along all garden beds in order to neaten the landscape.

Best Flowers to Plant In Spring in South Africa

Oh, flowers! They steal the show in a garden almost every time. But when is the right time to plant flowers? Which flowers should you be planting in the Spring season? And very importantly, where should you plant them? Here is a list that is fail-proof when choosing flowers for your garden this Spring.

Weigela

These pretty pink-and-white trumpeting spring flowers are perfect for the spring season and bloom most when exposed to plenty of sun but can also withstand partial shade.

Daffodil

These are classic springtime bulbs, which must be planted in the fall for spring. Their cheery yellow flowers are very reliable and better yet, rodents and animals will leave them alone.

Hyacinths

These beautiful, fragrant flowers that last for weeks should be planted in the fall to make sure they bloom by springtime. Rodents won’t bother them as there is a toxic substance in the bulbs.

Primrose

Primroses appear in very early spring in a variety of colors such as white, canary yellow, deep purple, and pink. They’re easy and low maintenance perennials and there are many varieties to choose from.

Tulips

Tulip bulbs must be planted in the fall for spring color and are technically known as a perennial, but often fade after the first year. As a result , they are treated as annuals and planted every year.

Best Vegetables to Plant In Spring

Don’t forget about the vegetable garden! Don’t have one? Spring is the perfect time to create that vegetable patch you have been talking about. Here are some great vegetable to grow during Spring.

Asparagus

Asparagus is a perennial vegetable and one can plant it once and harvest it for many years to come. They require a large portion of space within the garden and one can expect an excellent turnout every year for up to 15 years or more, while a mature asparagus harvest can last for months.

Lettuce

The cool and wet weather of spring is an ideal time to grow lettuce, and there are hundreds of varieties. One can plant a new crop every two to three weeks, while choosing slow bolt varieties or varieties with different maturation rates for a continuous harvest.

Peas

Spring is an optimal time for these easy-to-grow vegetables as they do not like freezing temperatures, and they dislike heat more. One can choose between shelling peas, snow peas, or sugar snap peas. Make use of a trellis to support the vines and this will also make harvesting easier.

Rhubarb

Rhubarb is effortless to grow and once the bed is established, one can look forward to a rhubarb harvest every spring for decades. It is advised to plant dormant crowns in early spring and remove flower stalks the first year to allow the plant to develop.

Harvesting can begin in the second year after the plant is established and at the five-year mark, one should dig up the root ball and divide it.

Spinach

This green leafy vegetable must be grown in cool weather, and it grows extremely quickly. To extend the harvest, one can plant new spinach directly into the soil every week or two until the average last frost date. Another great thing about spinach is that it can grow in the shade of crops that will be taking off just as the spinach begins to fade.

Beets

Beets grow from a seed and take about 7 to 10 weeks to mature, but one can start seedlings inside or harvest some of the young greens planted in the garden to eat while their roots continue to grow underground. Beets like a lot of sun and consistent moisture and one should avoid crowding plants to allow for proper air circulation.