6 ways to get a yard ready for spring

SPRING is here! Whip your garden back into shape post winter with easy gardening tips from Homelife.

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SPRING is here! Whip your garden back into shape post winter with easy gardening tips from Homelife.

This is a great time to start a vegetable garden, establish new garden beds, plant just about anything, renovate your lawn, spruce up neglected areas and give the garden its once-a-year feed of fertiliser.

One of the most rewarding jobs to do right now is to get rid of the weeds before they start growing with renewed vigour. Hand weed or hoe out new and emerging weeds. Target persistent weeds such as oxalis and onion weed with spot herbicide treatments, particularly while plants are in flower.

Here are the six top tips for ways to direct your spring gardening urges to get the most from your garden. Make a start this weekend and follow the rest of the action plan over the weeks ahead!

1. Feed you lawn

Apply a slow-release complete lawn food to all grass areas. Use a metal rake to remove any build up of thatch (dead growth giving lawns a spongy feel underfoot). If the lawn is looking sparse, reseed or returf bare areas. Before replanting, dig in organic matter and water over the area with a soil wetting agent. Keep everyone off areas that are being renovated until the new grass is growing vigorously.

2. Plant vegetables

Early spring is a rewarding time to plant vegetables, whether you’re starting a new garden or popping some herbs in a sunny window box. Vegies and herbs to plant now (or after the last frosts in frost-prone areas) include summer salad vegies such as tomato, snowpeas, capsicum or chilli, lettuce, cucumber, basil, rocket and parsley.

3. Quick colour

Flowering spring annuals can be planted now to give your garden a quick lift. Add instant colour with pots of cineraria, pansy, polyanthus or flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Also plan ahead for flowers later in the year. Buy punnets of late spring and summer flowers including petunia, phlox and impatiens (a good choice for shade). Seedlings can be planted in garden beds or popped into large pots for strategic bursts of colour.

4. Clean and mend

Warmer weather means more time spent outside eating, relaxing and entertaining. Check outdoor furniture and outdoor sitting areas in preparation for convivial times ahead. Wooden furniture may need to be repainted or re-oiled. Nuts and bolts should be checked and tightened.

Canvas chairs may need to be cleaned or re-covered. Also, clean the barbecue and replenish gas bottles. Paving and other hard surfaces benefit from a vigorous sweep to remove accumulated leaves and dirt. Mossy or slippery paths can be cleaned and treated with a once-a-year product.

5. Prune

Plants that have already bloomed or have frost damage can be pruned to encourage new growth. Also remove old canes from perennials and grasses to make way for fresh spring growth. To keep shrubs, perennials and annuals in bloom over the months ahead, remove spent flowers regularly.

6. Water features

Top up water features and clean out ponds by removing accumulated leaves and rubbish that’s blown in over winter. Remove dead stalks from pond plants and scoop out algae. Re-pot water plants such as waterlilies before returning them to ponds.