Sunny Days Are Here Again

Spring has arrived and the sun is shining more days than not, providing the opportunity (and oomph) to get out in your garden and get ready for the summer. It’s time to plant your summer bulbs and dig out your lawn mower for the first cut of the year. 

Make sure you leave a bit of grass unmown though so that you can enjoy Mother Nature’s treat. The coming weeks promise a riot of colour to complement the greening backdrop as trees burst into leaf: bluebells, celandines, primroses and red campion are all set to brighten up your days.

Don’t forget though that the weeds are also plotting a comeback, as are the slugs. Start your campaigns early: get a grip on the weeds before they get a grip on your flower beds and put up slug barricades around your tender green shoots. Why not try some of these natural slug control methods and see what works best? Make some beer traps using empty water bottles. Cut around the bottle roughly 3 inches from the bottom and then cut out two opposing sections of roughly a quarter of the circumference. Leave an inch at the base of the bottle for the beer, pour it in and finish it off yourself…you deserve it after all your hard work! Save up all your eggshells, crush them up and scatter them around the plants (they double up as compost) or if you’re feeling brave set a citrus trap. Simply place empty halves of grapefruit or orange upside down besides your juiciest looking shoots of an evening, and do what you will with their sluggy contents in the morning. Personally, I think that’s a good pocket money earner (unless your kids are vegetarian and likely to set the slugs free).

So, you’ve mown, weeded, planted and protected. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to sit with a lovely cuppa (or the remains of the slugs’ beer) in your very own Garden Escapeand feast your eyes on your beautiful handiwork? And, if you’ve got any energy left, take a leaf out of Luton’s book and have a little dance. Go on – no one’s watching and it makes you feel….

Happy.