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Gradually lower the cutting height of your mower as grass growth increasesSpray roses showing signs of diseases such as blackspot, rust or powdery mildewApply a combined weed, feed and moss killer to your lawn if you think it needs itTop up water

Dock, Rumex crispus, appears in the garden in large spreading groups, and is characterised by coarse, battered leaves. It spreads via seed produced by tiny brownish-green flowers, which appear in abundance in summer and are loved by seed

or ruining your display, it might not be worth fighting it. This grass can make itself at home all around the garden, particularly in beds, borders, the lawn and paving. It has fluffy flowerheads that disperse seed and keep the weed coming.Use a handfork

Yellow sorrel, Oxalis corniculata, is a low, creeping weed that will happily grow anywhere - it's as happy in the bone-dry cracks in paving as it is in the damp garden and around the tops of containers. Although small, it's tricky to pull out

Pick dead flower-heads off rhododendrons and azaleasHoe borders to keep down weeds, or treat with weedkillerScoop floating weed out of garden ponds with a netFeed lawns with a liquid or granular lawn fertiliserTrim hedges like privet and Lonicera

Keep lawn edges trimmed by cutting with a half-moon edging toolLook out for cabbage white butterfly eggs and rub them off with your fingersRemove blanket weed from pondsFeed hanging baskets and patio pots every weekPrune fast-growing hedges like

Spread a layer of manure or compost around roses and shrubsPrepare areas for laying new lawns in spring, digging over, weeding and enriching the soilBe on the look out for slugs and snails, which will attack emerging shoots of perennials

Learn how to hoe your vegetable patch effectively with advice and a practical demonstration from Monty Don. Find out about tool sharpening and how frequently to hoe your plot. all year roundMore advice on common garden tasksWeeding by hand

Mow lawns regularly, gradually lowering the height of the cut as spring progressesTreat problem weeds, such as nettles and brambles, with weedkillerTidy up hedges, but before you start cutting make sure no birds are nesting in them Keep large sheets

of all cane and plant supports to prevent injury to eyesApply a moss killer to lawns, then, after a few days, scarify to rake out the dead matterWipe teak oil or other nourishing wood treatment on to wooden garden furniture to condition it for summer