Healthy gardens

Dealing with your weeds Nobody wants weeds in their garden, least of all during the summer when you are spending more time out there, (hopefully) enjoying the weather. So take the time to remove weeds from your borders and lawn. This can be done by digging them out by their roots. This is a good method for perennial weeds. Be sure to remove all the creeping roots, to prevent them from returning. If you have a hoe, you can use it to sever the weeds from the soil as soon as you spot them. After removing the weeds lay down some mulch. By laying a layer of mulch in your flowerbeds, you can suppress many weeds, and add some much appreciated moisture to the soil. Unfortunately, this will still not prevent perennial weeds from growing. They will still need to be dug out. On the lawn you may encounter moss, which you do not want. All good garden centres will sell moss killer to remedy this problem, but be sure to follow the instructions carefully. Tidy up Weeds are not the only things to remove from the garden: there is plenty of general debris that could do with being shown the door. If you have a pond, remove leaves and other rubbish that looks unsightly. Now that the winter frosts are truly behind us, it is safe to take the lawnmower back onto the lawn to keep it under control. Similarly, prune back your roses, getting rid of any dead or diseased branches. Start planting seeds Take this opportunity to plants seeds in earnest to prepare for a wonderful summer bloom. If you have time, take a trip down to the garden centre and buy some plants that you like the look of. Once you have removed all the weeds, you can put down some lovely colourful plants, which will add some early colour to the garden. Bulbs, gladioli and lilies are especially good for ensuring some great colours and smells, come summer.