Page 49 - March 2024

INTERIORS INSIDER

Your ultimate spring
gardening checklist 3. Plant for colour

One of the most enjoyable
spring gardening jobs is
planting, however, Marcus
with Dobbies notes that the time to do
so will depend on weather.
Here in Scotland, you
should wait until late spring
Dobbies’ Horticultural Director, Marcus Eyles gives his before planting summer
top tips on preparing your garden this spring. bulbs to ensure all risk of
frost has passed. Then, you
can enjoy planting summer
flowering bulbs like Dobbies’
s our gardens shake off the frost and Dobbies’ Horticultural Director, Marcus Eyles, new-in dahlias, lilies and gladioli.
welcome the vibrancy of spring, so has outlined his top tips on how you can get
A begins the busiest season in a gardener’s the most from your outdoor space, beginning
calendar. Whether you’re a gardening pro, in early spring and continuing through to later Early spring is the perfect time
or you’re just starting your planting journey, in the season. to plant new roses for a blooming
summer display in June, but Marcus
advises ensuring you prune existing rose
1. Clean and tidy bushes back before the new season leaves
Spring cleaning your garden is an essential first begin to unfurl.
step when it comes to preparing for the year
ahead, and if you have been maintaining your 4. Refresh your pots 5. Lawncare
garden throughout the winter months, this will To enjoy instant colour in your garden this Depending on the weather, early spring is
be an easy job. One of the simplest ways to spring, Marcus recommends refreshing your the time to get your lawn ready for sowing
tidy up your garden is by neatening your beds pots, hanging baskets and window boxes with by cultivating soil and making sure the area
and borders for the growing season, removing early season primroses, pansies and spring is level and firm. Marcus says before you do
weeds and applying a good layer of mulch flowering heathers. Bluebells in pots and anything you should make sure any debris is
over the surface with organic compost. Marcus Ribes Sanguineum, or flowering currants, can cleared from your lawn. As we get into spring
notes that not only will mulching help tidy also be planted in late spring for a country and the weather heats up, you can begin to
up the appearance of your garden, but it will garden effect. rake out moss and dead grass.
break down into the soil and give your plants a
nutrient boost for spring.
One of Marcus’s favourite ways to make an In terms of when to first mow your lawn,
impact with your containers plants is to focus Marcus recommends keeping an eye on the
2. Design your beds and borders on colour themes in concentrated groupings. weather. When you see the grass growing and
Spring is the ideal time to get your beds and Hot colours and shades of red, orange and there’s no more frost, you can give it the first
borders in shape for the warmer months. In pink are favoured in the warmer months but light cut of the season, making sure the blades
early spring, once you have removed weeds, the displays of yellow daffodils and blue primroses, are kept on their highest setting so as not to
next step is to trim back any winter flowering pansies or violas can be effective in spring to scalp the lawn.
plants where blooms have started to fade and welcome the new season.
prune summer flowering shrubs like buddleia,
lavatera and hardy fuschias to allow room for
new growth. For more spring gardening advice, and to find your nearest Dobbies store, visit dobbies.com.

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