Garden jobs to get done over the Easter weekend

The four-day Easter break is a great opportunity to crack on with outdoor jobs, and traditionally this is the weekend when garden centres expect an influx of customers, and will be packed with tempting plants to buy. This year Easter falls early, however, starting with Good Friday on April 3rd – so while there’s plenty to get on with in the garden, beware of leaping too far ahead by buying frost-tender bedding and patio plants, or Mediterranean plants that are only borderline hardy.

Don't forget: frosts can still occur up until the end of May even in mild parts of the country. On top of this, the soil is inhospitably cold and wet after an incredibly rainy winter. Focus instead on planting hardy plants and tackling those jobs and projects that can be done regardless of temperature. Always remember to check weather forecasts and plan jobs accordingly, and have some horticultural fleece handy for protecting existing plants that might be hit by frost.

Plants to put in now

For anything hardy, like roses, hardy perennials, deciduous and hardy evergreen shrubs, and trees, planting as early in the season as possible is ideal – but only if conditions permit. If the soil is still wet, or squelchy, or sticks to your boots, leave well alone, as trying to work the ground in this state will ruin its structure.

Sow seeds of hardy plants

If the soil is dry enough to cultivate, and night temperatures haven’t been near frost level for a week or so, there are lots of hardy vegetable and flower seeds to sow direct where they are to grow. Easy ones to start with include lettuce, mixed salad leaves, beetroot, radish, sunflower, nasturtium, love-in-a-mist and sweet peas. Always follow the instructions on the back of the seed packet regarding depth and spacing – some seedlings, such as sunflowers, will need protecting from slugs and snails.

Plant onion and shallot sets

Onion and shallot sets are miniature versions of themselves, designed to speed up the growing process so you don't have to grow them from seed. They are heat-treated to prevent bolting, and are easy to grow. Although hardy, plant only if the soil isn’t wet. Plant each one with the tip just below the soil’s surface so there’s less chance of birds hoicking them out of the ground. Even so, it’s worth checking regularly and replanting any that have been pulled out.

Plan a pond project

A garden pond makes a beautiful and fabulously wildlife-friendly feature but does take a lot of work and upheaval, so is best done when you have several days to tackle and complete the whole job. Making a pond now gets the mess out of the way before summer and is the perfect time to get pond plants put in and growing without delay.

Build a pergola, arch, or arbour

A vertical structure makes a superb garden feature that can be put up over the course of a weekend, and there are many that come in kit form to make the job more straightforward. Make sure you have everything you need to complete the project, such as concrete or metal post supports to secure the uprights, wood preservative to treat cut post ends, and tools such as a saw, drill, and screwdriver. Power tools make the job much easier and, if you have one locally, borrowing from a tool library or a ‘library of things’ saves buying something you may only use for this one project.

Indoor jobs you can do out of the rain

Spring weather is notoriously fickle, so it’s good to have some indoor jobs up your sleeve for a rainy day:

• Clean used pots and seed trays ready for sowing. Old debris can harbour pests and diseases, so this job can save losses later
• Sow seeds and keep on a warm well-lit windowsill or in a heated propagator
• Pot on seedlings into individual pots and keep on a warm windowsill or in a heated propagator, with plenty of light
• Pot on plug plants of tender veg or patio plants bought from garden centres or by mail. By potting them into individual pots and keeping them in a warm, sheltered spot you can encourage them to put on root growth so they're more robust when it's time to plant out.