Summer is on its way  and the temperature outside is beginning to rise. This means that it is the perfect time again to get back in to the garden. Do some maintenance and cut back any of those dead branches to encourage your garden to bloom in the coming months. There are plenty of things you can do to spruce up your garden without breaking the bank;

• On the rare occasion, it stops raining long enough to dry up your lawn, grab the opportunity to get your first mow of the year done. Set the blades higher than usual for the first cut and take the height down gradually over the next few cuts.
• March is usually the month to carry out other lawn maintenance such as scarifying, spiking and over seeding bare patches, but this work can only be done when the ground is dry enough, so don’t worry if you have to wait until next month to carry out these tasks.
• Spring is a great time to plant bulbs such as summer hyacinth and meadow saffron, which flowers late into Winter. Remember to plant your bulbs at least 6 inches into the ground
• Make sure you use a good quality potting compost when transferring potted plants to ground.
• When the ground is dry enough, dig up and move shrubs and plants into new positions in the garden

If you still need some inspiration, have a look below at the winners of last year’s Garden Competition