March
March
Well, we have had quite a long period of strong winds which have, in most gardens, caused damage. With Winter now passing and Spring (hopefully) in the air, now is the time to survey the garden and make good any damage caused by those winds. Look for branches in trees and shrubs that may be broken but still attached. Prune them back and also look at roses and give them a tidy too.
This month I thought I would dwell on the garden layout, general landscaping issues and how you use the garden. The lawn generally is the main feature in a garden, and now is an excellent time to sort the edges and get them sharpened up to enhance both how the lawn looks and how the borders are defined. In addition, you should look for any damage to the edges that have been caused by overgrowing plants and shrubs etc., or damage caused by someone having stood directly on the edge, which has resulted in part of the edge collapsing.
Repairs to the edge of a lawn are relatively straightforward, but you need to be careful. I will attempt to explain how to do it as follows; for example, if the worn/damaged part is, say, 9” wide at the edge and goes into the lawn 6”, using an ‘edging’ iron mark out the area at least 3-6 inches wider on all sides and press in the full depth of the edging iron. Once this is done, using a flat spade, slice in from the edge of the lawn (try to keep it level) and loosen the soil to the three edges. Once done, lift the ‘sod’ out and turn it 180 degrees and return into the space, you may have to use a hand fork to help level the area, and you should now have the worn part in the lawn and a lovely new bit of edge. Using the back of the spade, gently pat the area to help firm the sod into place.
The worn part should regenerate, but you may want to ‘rake’ the area with a hand fork and re-seed.
Now is also an excellent time to give some thought as to how you use your garden and ask the question, have we got the seating in the places where we can sit and enjoy the view and the sun at various times of the day. There are a variety of stones available that can be used for a ‘Sitootery’ (patio).
But remember, a bench on grass is a lot cheaper.
There is quite a fashion mow for ‘raised beds’ this is the modern way to grow vegetables, but then comes the problem, how big? How deep? They are relatively easy to construct and vary in depth. Most people opt for the cheapest one, which is easy to build using 6” gravel board and pegs at the corners and middle, then fill with compost, and you are ready to go.
Others use ‘sleepers’ and make them as high as 2ft. That’s a lot to fill. Whatever you choose, I am sure you will get a lot of pleasure from the results. Of course, you can grow a great selection of vegetables like potatoes, onions, salads and carrots etc., in good-sized pots with good compost and fertiliser, so why not try that this year and maybe next year go for the bigger sizes.
Whatever you do, have a good month and plan now for the long-awaited summer months.
Ewen
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