This is the month where there is no excuses to get out into the garden unless of course we get a batch of snow. Spring is officially upon us, buds are opening, Daffodils are flowering, birds are singing, its a glorious time of year. So what needs doing:

1. Prune your Hydrangeas by cutting back the old flower heads right back to the strongest pair of new buds. Remove some of the oldest stems from the base, no more than a third. This is to help regenerate new growth.
2. Mulch (Glossary) your beds and borders with bulky organic matter, this is to aid water retention, insulates the soil, suppresses weeds (depends on the right kind of mulch that hasn’t got perennial weeds in, some horse manure does!), protects the surface from heavy rain and erosion. Also adds some nutrients to the soil. Be careful if you use horse manure as fresh manure will burn the plants it touches, only use really rotted manure. I tend to just use the compost I have created throughout the year that has completely rotten, just be careful again that you have been putting the right things into your compost bin, also be aware that your compost might alter the ph in your soil. In general organic matter decomposes at neutral to acidic so bare that in mind if you are putting a sensitive alkaline loving plant in. In small gardens it shouldn’t be too much of an issue unless you have an already neutral to acidic soil and you want alkaline loving plants.
3. Protect new seedlings with cloches or horticultural fleece  (if you have already sown some seeds and they are currently outside). Its best to cover just for the night unless their is snow or very heavy rain predicted for the day. Also protect from slugs and snails, there are many options out there slug pellets do work to a point, but i learnt that if you keep your garden healthy then it will look after itself in a natural balance. Doesn’t always work does it Mr Chafer Grub! Don’t mention that name to my Dad he will cry. We had a bit of an incident on the front lawn. We try not to speak of it now. Look out for my post on pests!
4. Later on in the month when the daffodils have flowered deadhead them as it channels growth into the bulb ready for next years display.
5. Prune Cornus,  Dog Wood and Salix, Willow right back to the stool or base. This is called coppicing, with these plants it encourages bushy growth, but also produces more vibrant colour stems when they are chopped right back.
6. Rake your lawn with a thin wire rake that is ideal for scraping off the dead leaves and moss ready for your first cut of the year. Start mowing your lawn! Not when its wet and don’t cut the grass to high to start off. If you are laying turf finish it off this month before it become warm and dry.