Easter Gardening Ideas

Picture of a Magnolia, specifically the Magnolia x loebneri Leonard Messel

Easter Gardening Ideas 

With an extra-long weekend stretching ahead, the garden beckons for many. But before you rush to your local garden centre or nursery to pick up some new plants, it’s important to prep your beds and plan your purchases first. Here are a few tips to help you get your garden ready to bloom. 

 

Prepare for the growing season 

It’s not too late to get your garden ready for the growing season ahead. If you haven’t had a chance to prune and weed yet, then now’s the time to do it. Start clearing your beds, deadheading any perennials that need attention, and prepping your soil for planting. Dig deep to loosen up the soil and add a good layer of fine mulch after weeding. This helps to keep the soil moist and supresses the growth of new weeds.  

 

Plan your beds 

While the last of the spring frost is hopefully behind us, it’s still a little too early to start planting some specimens. Start with hardy perennials and containerised shrubs such as magnolias and camelias. These add colour and interest at this time of year and can also be grown in suitable sized containers as well as in the ground. Remember to choose plants that suit your location, orientation, and soil type, and try to include varieties that benefit pollinators and wildlife. These Top 10 Tips from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan can help guide you. 

 

More advice 

Bord Bia’s Easy Steps to Dream Gardens includes a wealth of advice to help you choose the right plants to suit your garden and the staff in your local garden centre or nursery will be able to suggest what plants are ready for the ground now, and what need a few more weeks before going outdoors. You can find more helpful tips and gardening inspiration on bordbia.ie/gardening.