May
2009
Irish Spring: The Best Time to Prepare Your Garden for Summer
Spring in Ireland spells of warm temperatures, longer days, and flower-filled sceneries. And although the weather comes with some rain, the rain showers last only a few minutes in the day and open up the sky to some sun and rainbows.
And true enough, it is during the spring season when gardeners and landscapers alike have their hands full. Well, after the harsh coldness of winter, your professional landscaper in Dublin will advise you to get your garden and landscape back into tip-top shape and have them ready for the summer bloom.
The following are easy-to-follow and easy-to-remember tasks that you need to do during the spring season. They should be enough to have your flowers and plants ready for display when summer comes:
1. Cleaning. First things first. Before trying to beautify your garden, you need to have it all cleaned up. Get rid of all the traces of snow that has melted. This is also the time when you need to check up on leaves, mulch, and anything else that might clog up the gutters. Slugs and snails should also be removed beneath those rocky plant foliage, while moss and algae should be removed from steps and paths. Trim those climbers that have grown around windows or doors and into eaves. New shoots may also be tied in those climbing roses.
2. Making repairs. During winter, ice in the fences, steps, and pathways expand, causing tiny cracks. These will be visible as soon as they melt in spring. Your landscaper in Dublin will tell you to use the proper wood preservatives for any wood structures. If you miss this chance, you might end up losing your precious outdoor woodworks.
3. Pruning the trees and shrubs. A landscaper in Dublin can lend a hand in trimming the trees and shrubs. Other than having the right tools and skills, they can do this very easily. You can start with the dead or damaged branches. There could also be some dead or damaged plants that need replacement. You can also trim down the overgrown plants.
4. Conditioning the soil. Your plants would need the essential nutrients after the long winter. You can start with a fresh batch of compost or you can still use last year’s stock if you still have it. You can check with your landscaper in Dublin for more information on the proper preparation of your compost.
5. Planting. The bulb size and health should be the major factors to be considered when choosing the right bulbs for planting. Lilies, gladioli, dahlia, and crocosmia are the perfect bulbs that will bring out their best colors when the summer comes.
It should go without saying that taking care of your garden and landscape should not be limited as a job to be done only after the harshness of winter snow has melted. A professional landscaper in Dublin will tell you that such a job is a year-round endeavor if you want to keep all your plants and flowers aglow with beauty and health.
Reading all this, I thought about your garden and how spring looks like in Ireland. Some pictures would be great.
One of the best defenses for warding of slugs is the Natterjack. As you probably know the Natterjack toad is finally on a comeback and there is no better way to rid your garden of slugs. The great thing about the natterjack is it can live up to 15 years, so he can be a friend in your garden for many years.