At last spring has sprung; and although it’s still a bit nippy outside it’s just lovely to see the sunlight pouring in and everything coming to life. But no time to rest on your laurels - it’s growing season, and that means ACTION!

Get weeding. Those little leaflets that spring up so prettily can become pernicious all-encompassing shrubbery before you know it. Deploy my favourite tool, the hoe, and just shimmy them out of the soil before they get too big.

Get mowing. If you’ve still got a lawn of the old-fashioned (ie growing) variety, it now needs light and regular trims.

Leave your bulbs to die back (unless they were a disaster this season and you’re aiming for a different look for S/S14, dahling). Feed them with an organic fertiliser, and deadhead the flowers - both will help strengthen the bulbs for next spring..

Once the frosts have finished, you can start planting out seedlings, and even sowing seeds direct into beds.

Get going on your summer fruit and veg: strawberries, squash, courgette, tomatoes are all easy to grow and taste delicious freshly picked. Try to plant the same varieties with a couple of weeks in between so that they don’t all come at once and you then spend all summer freezing/souping/pickling...

Start tying back climbers and tall shrubs that’ll need some support; it’s easier to do if you’re on top of it from the beginning.

Above all, enjoy - it’s a gorgeous time of year to be out there!