• Remove anything you’ve used to ‘winterize’ your garden and store it away for next year
• Get out your garden decor out to add some colour
• Sharpen pruners and loppers, as well as mower blades
• Check your garden for signs of growth
• Prune fruit trees and shrubs before buds start to bloom
• Evaluate any stonework that may have shifted over the winter
• Clean up dead leaves from your flower beds with your hands to prevent damaging perennial shoots
• Divide your perennials before they’ve started to grow
• Evaluate your spring blooms and make notes of any empty spaces you can plant more spring-flowering plants next year
• Turn the soil; it is likely to be flat after months of snow
• Plant hardy annuals
• Put down mulch now to prevent weeding in the summer time
• Deadhead spring-flowering bulbs after they’ve bloomed and let the foliage die back without removing them
• Set up plant supports for certain plants to grow up, not out
• Plant summer bulbs, like dahlias, in pots before the ground is warm enough for planting
• Add compost to flower beds
• Hook up your hose and make sure there are no leaks
And of course, take a moment to enjoy the wonder of new growth in your garden!
