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With the clock change imminent and Easter just around the corner, our thoughts start to move to the long summer evenings – dining alfresco, late-night walks and trips to the beach after work are all made possible with those extra few blissful hours of sunlight.
Despite the blast of cold weather we’ve been having – I’m ignoring the threat of yet more snow forecast this week – it’s the perfect time to get thinking about your Spring garden. Perhaps you have a selection of window boxes housing your favourite herbs, a modest front garden or a sprawling country garden, that, having been left to its own devices over the winter months, has grown somewhat wild.
People use their gardens for all sorts of reasons – for the kids to play, to relax and read a favourite book, as a haven for wildlife or to simply indulge a passion for gardening – and, unless you suffer terribly from hay-fever, many of us enjoy the sights, sounds and smells that a garden in early summer can bring.
While maintaining a garden can take a lot of time and energy, if you’re simply looking to spruce it up in time for the new season, here are a few tips to get you started.
Welcome nature – There’s nothing like the fluttering of colourful butterflies or the soft humming of bumble bees to make it feel like summer in the garden. Plant a few nature-friendly plants or seeds now – sunflowers, lavender, honeysuckle and thyme are all great options – to ensure you get an array of visitors when the sunshine finally arrives. 
Sit outside – Of course, making the most of the longer, lighter evenings is what spring and summer are all about. The BBQs on Sunday afternoon, or the cocktail nights on Friday after work, a good set of table and chairs will be a welcoming addition to the garden.
A lick of paint – Following on from the last point – why not spruce up an existing set with a lick of paint, give the garden shed a new lease of life or repaint the fence in a soft pastel hue for the start of spring? It’s a simple DIY job for the weekend, but one that can make a world of difference to the look and feel of your garden.
Grow your own – Growing a few vegetables or salad leaves for the dinner table is an inexpensive way to get into gardening. If you buy and plant a few seeds now – lettuce, radishes, courgettes and herbs (especially mint!) are all easy to grow – they’ll be sprouting up in no time, all ready for the Sunday roasts!
