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The sound of birds singing the dawn chorus; flowers and trees bursting into bloom; butterflies returning to our gardens; who wants to stay indoors?
A little spring gardening after such a trying 12 months is just what the doctor ordered. It's time to start getting your garden summer ready.
Spring gardening jobs
Just as people start to clean their homes, this is a great time to spring clean the garden too. Every garden takes a battering over the winter months and there will be debris to clear up. Clear the lawn of any fallen leaves and plant debris and weed the flower beds.
Before you do anything else, get the rake out of your shed and put on some sturdy gardening gloves. Put all the waste on your compost heap or in the green bin, ready for the council recycling service to collect.
Freshen up the soil by topping it with extra compost from a garden centre, or manure, as the winter will have taken its toll. Heavy rain can impact on the soil, washing away essential nutrients, so add some fertiliser to ensure plant health is maintained throughout the summer months.
Plants from last year need to be trimmed to give them a better chance of blooming again. Prune when the weather is warm enough: this isn't a job for when there's an overnight freeze, as it could damage the plants.
Greenhouse jobs
While there is still a nip in the air, tackle some jobs that can be done in the greenhouse. This is the time to prepare flowers, fruit or vegetables, so they are ready to add to the garden when the soil is warm enough.
When you've tidied up the existing plants and shrubs, introduce some new additions. This is a good time for cultivating pansies and tulips to bring a vibrant flash of colour to your spring garden.
If you like growing your own vegetables, plant lettuce or peas, or start sowing your tomato plants. Vegetables can go outside in late spring, when the weather is warmer, but nurture them in the greenhouse for now.
Plant some summer-flowering bulbs such as begonia, lilies and freesias, as they will provide a beautiful show in June and July.
Combat garden pests
Make sure you keep plants safe from slugs. Some people prefer humane traps, rather than killing them with poisons. Experienced gardeners suggest catching them in an old plastic container with grapefruit halves or a little beer inside, as they will be attracted by the smell. Then, release them on waste ground away from gardens.
Provide a copper border to your plants, as slugs don't like sliding over copper. You can reuse plastic bottles as part of your slug control plan. Cut the top and bottom of a used bottle to create a uniform shape and wrap a copper cable a few times round it.
Secure the cable with duct tape. Dig the plastic bottle into the soil, to prevent slugs from crawling underneath. You can make a whole border of plastic bottles with copper wrapped around to protect all your flower beds.
Feed the birds
Most people love seeing wild birds in their garden and will add a bird table and birdbath to encourage them to come in. The RSPB suggests making your own bird feeder - all you need is a plastic bottle, string and scissors. It can be a great craft activity to do with the kids.
Cut a hole in the side of the bottle that is large enough for a bird to hop on and feed, but not so large that all the seed falls out in the event of a breeze. Make a few tiny holes in the bottom of the bottle to allow rain to drain away.
Attach strong string, or wire, to the top and fill it with seed. Then, hang on the branch of a tree, a bush, the fence, or a washing line, where birds can feed in safety.
If it starts looking worse for wear, or the seed is getting wet, recycle the bottle and make another bird feeder.
Watering your garden
Plastic bottles have many uses in the garden and it's a great way to recycle. You can turn two-litre plastic bottles into watering containers that will keep your garden fresh in warm weather. Make a tiny hole in the cap of each bottle - you can do this by tapping a small nail through the lid, using a hammer. Then, pull the nail out.
Fill the bottles with water and stand them upside-down in the flower beds, so the water drains out of the hole very slowly to keep your soil moist, even in warm weather.
Did you know, you can reuse large, four-pint, plastic milk containers by turning them into watering cans? Poke multiple small holes in the screw-on lid using a metal skewer, or a large needle. Wash out the milk carton thoroughly and you have a ready-made watering can with a built-in handle.
Hanging baskets
You can make your own unique hanging baskets out of plastic bottles, especially fizzy drink bottles of different shapes, sizes and colours to create a bright mix. Use a sharp knife to cut off the bottle's base, about one inch high. Wash the bottle out with clean water.
Cover the sharp edge with masking tape. Punch four holes around it to attach the string. Use four equal lengths of twine and tie them through the holes. The hanging basket should hang straight and not veer off to one side at an angle. Line the inside of the bottle with a thin layer of aluminium foil for insulation.
Make a small hole in the lid, as this will be the underside of the hanging basket, to drain away excess rainwater. You can decorate the bottle in any way you choose, or if it's already a colour you like, simply leave it plain. Fill it with soil and plants, as you would a shop-bought hanging basket.
You can use them to grow culinary plants indoors such as parsley, basil, thyme and rosemary, or plant hot peppers and small tomatoes in them outdoors. You can also plant traditional hanging basket flowers.
Keep the soil topped up so it doesn't get depleted with rain or wind and hang the baskets in a place where there's plenty of sun.
Looking after tools
Spring is an ideal time to make sure your gardening tools are ready to use. Have your lawnmower serviced and have other tools sharpened. This is normally a job for a professional, unless you have some knowledge of tool maintenance yourself.
Clean out the shed and if your shelves or storage containers have seen better days, invest in some new ones to keep all your gardening tools dry and rust-free. Although he is no longer with us, I can still hear my Grandad telling me to clean my tools before I put them away! Not bad advice, as it saves a lot of time in the long run.
Fix any broken fence panels or trellis and treat wooden garden structures with wood stain when the weather is dry and breezy.
Get organised now and you will be able to enjoy your garden more in the summer!