Spring garden projects and blog carnival

Spring has sprung and suddenly I’m getting urges to be out ‘doing things’ in the garden.

I’ve made a start on weeding, cutting back dead growth and a spot of planting, but have lots more planned and am currently drooling over ideas for all the things I’d like to plant this year.

If you’re keen to get gardening, then here are some ideas for useful garden projects that you might like to get stuck into this spring.

Make your garden bird friendly

Spring is just as important a time of the year to think about birds as the colder winter months are.

Birds are beginning to think about nesting (I’ve been watching blackbirds very busily collecting nesting materials), so you could ensure that there are plenty of suitable nesting materials available for them to obtain. If you have pets, such as cats or dogs, and especially if they’re moulting, you could put their fur to good use after grooming them and fill a bird feeder with it.

Other materials that birds find useful to use in their nesting activities include natural fibres, such as wool and cotton, ribbon, lace and bits of string. All of these can be added to a feeder for them to forage and find.

Now is also a good time to install a bird box or two in your garden or on the walls of your house. Different sized boxes suit different types of birds – sparrows, for example, like to nest in families, so choose a sparrow terrace style box, whereas robins tend to prefer a slightly open fronted box, that can be hidden by a hedge or other plants.

If you’re a dab hand with a hammer and nails, then why not have a go at making your own bird box? The British Trust for Ornithology have a useful guide to box building, including which size is best for which bird.

Plant sunflower seeds

If you’re keen to grow sunflowers this year, then now is the perfect time to start planting the seeds.

Sow the seeds in individual pots to start them off, or dedicate an area of your garden to become the sunflower patch.

If you’re doing the latter, it’s a good idea to use plant markers to mark where you’ve planted the seeds. Not only so that you can keep an eye on their growth and progress, but also so anyone else in your household who might be gardening too knows where they are (and doesn’t accidentally pull up your giant sunflower seedling, as has happened to me in the past!).

Weeding and pruning

It’s not the most exciting of garden projects, but if your garden has been somewhat neglected over the winter, now is a good time to get out there and start weeding and pruning. It can actually be a very satisfying job, especially as you can see a real difference when you finish!

Prune back plants such as roses and hedges, as well as any other old growth (I’ve tidied up our passionflower, for example).

If you have fruit trees, such as apple or pear trees, and haven’t touched them since last year, get pruning them too. It’s essential to do so before any new buds start appearing and might help ensure you get a good crop of fruit later in the summer.

Garden blog carnival

This post is part of a blog carnival celebrating all things garden-related for #NationalGardeningWeek. For more inspiring ideas, check out these posts from fellow bloggers:

* Penny has three easy but great fun projects children will enjoy helping with, she has been making miniature gardens, creating a scarecrow and planting wild flowers.

* Catherine from Growing Family has three great family gardening projects, she has been sowing a mini wildflower meadow, growing vegetables in containers and making new plants for free.

* Becky has three lovely garden projects to share, a secret garden, making a herb planter and flower pressing.

* Stephanie at Life at 139a has two posts on how giving your garden furniture a scrub and revamp can work wonders as well as tips on how to repot your houseplants.

* Cathy from Wishful Wonderings has been looking for inspiration and creating a herb box for her small garden.

(Images courtesy of Pixabay)

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