Gardeners Keep Getting These Two Things Wrong Every Spring

Spring is the perfect time to prepare your garden for summer, but many people make simple mistakes that can cause problems later. Rob Brett, curator at RHS Hyde Hall, has shared his advice to help gardeners get the most out of this short but crucial season.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has put together a list of tasks that should be tackled in March. These include pruning roses, planting summer-flowering bulbs, and starting crops like onions. But Rob warns that time is limited, and putting things off could lead to missed opportunities.

He said: ‘Don’t avoid tasks or dwell on them. Get on with it. Spring is a short window to achieve lots of things that help establish or prepare a garden for the summer, which then becomes the time to sit and enjoy your hard labours.’

Gardening site recommends getting an early start on seeds, with chillies, tomatoes, potatoes, and beetroot being great choices for March. Flowers like poppies and cornflowers can be sown outside, while more delicate plants like dahlias and perennials should be started under glass and only moved outdoors when the risk of frost is gone.

For vegetable lovers, RHS suggests planting kale, chives, broad beans, peas, salads, and sweet peppers. Those interested in fruit should consider blackberries, currants, gooseberries, and pears.

March is also the time to tackle overgrown plants. The RHS advises cutting back perennials, trimming ornamental grasses, and pruning buddleja. Lawn mowing season also begins, so it’s time to get the mower out.

Rob also stresses that this is the last chance to plant bare-root trees and shrubs. He recommends dividing and relocating herbaceous plants to promote fresh growth. As for vegetables, he highlights onion sets, potatoes, and shallots as great choices. But if he had to pick just one thing to plant, it would be summer-flowering bulbs.

For those who haven’t been keeping up with their gardens over the winter, Rob suggests stepping outside to assess what’s thriving, what needs cutting back, and what could use some attention. He added: ‘March usually signals a time for cutting back herbaceous plants that have been left over winter, but it is also the time for pruning shrubs and climbing roses.’

With spring offering such a small window to get things done, avoiding these common mistakes will make all the difference when summer arrives.