Alan Titchmarsh Spring Garden Urgency
Gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh urges gardeners to complete essential tasks "right now" for spring plant success, including pruning, soil preparation, and early feeding of perennials. He advises taking advantage of any mild days as these jobs lay the foundation for healthy blooms and crops.
- To get a head start on the growing season, Alan Titchmarsh advises covering bare soil with black polythene in late February or early March. This warms the soil, keeps it drier from heavy rain, prevents the washing away of nutrients, and suppresses early weed growth, allowing for earlier sowing of crops like salads, peas, and carrots. - When it comes to pruning, timing is crucial and depends on the plant. Summer-flowering shrubs like Buddleia should be cut back in February or March, while spring-flowering shrubs such as Forsythia and Weigela should only be pruned immediately after they have finished flowering. Shrubs grown for their colourful winter stems, like Dogwood and Willows, should be pruned hard in late winter or early spring before they produce leaves to encourage vibrant new growth. - For lawn care, Titchmarsh recommends a wildlife-friendly approach to moss. Instead of using chemical moss killers, he suggests raking out moss with a wire-toothed rake after a wet winter. The removed moss can then be used as nesting material for birds. He then feeds his lawn in April and again in June with a general-purpose fertilizer like blood, fish, and bone. - Before adding new plants or mulch to beds, Titchmarsh recommends enriching the soil with well-rotted organic matter such as garden compost or manure. He also suggests sprinkling on a general-purpose, organic-based fertilizer like blood, fish, and bone meal to encourage a healthy, bacteria-rich soil, which is vital for strong plant growth. - To prevent the spread of diseases and pests, it is essential to clean pots and tools before spring planting. Titchmarsh recommends washing pots with warm, soapy water to remove old compost and potential fungal spores. He also advises that tools like hoes should be sharpened and all implements cleaned of mud and oiled. - Perennials form the backbone of a garden, and Titchmarsh suggests planting them between the beginning of March and the end of May for them to establish strong root systems. Some of his "must-have" perennials include Geranium 'Wargrave Pink', Lavender 'Hidcote' or 'Munstead', and the early-flowering Pulmonaria 'Twinkle Toes'.
