Ashford Castle’s gardener offers expert tips to get your garden ready for summer

With summer almost upon us, there’s no better time to get your garden in tip top shape and who better to give advice than Ashford Castle’s very own gardener, Martin Slattery of Greenmile Landscapes.

Whether you primarily use your garden or outside space to seasonally plant flowers, grow your own vegetables or you simply like it to look presentable for those long summer days, a considered approach to its maintenance will work wonders in the long run.

Here are Martin’s top tips to make the most of your outside space:

Look after your lawn

Mow grass regularly, once a week at least in the growing season and up to twice a week in the peak of the growth season.

It seems a lot but it’s the best approach for a healthy lawn.

Never remove more than one third of grass height in a single mowing and trim edges with a strimmer or shears with every mowing to keep lawns looking sharp.

Feed your soil, not just your plants

Feed your soil as well as your plants and lawns by using organic or organic based fertilizer/feed to encourage soil microbes and worms.

Healthy soil leads to happy, healthy plant life.

Prune for growth

Where shrubs or hedges are kept clipped or trimmed, it is wise to thin out and remove about 20% of older growth too - a few inches inside the clipped/trimmed line annually.

This allows air in and helps generate new growth from further back on the stems and branch structure.

Stay on top of weeds

Stay on top of your weed control! Regular weed control results in fewer weeds in the long term; allowing weeds to go to seed creates more weeds to control.

As the saying goes – “One year’s seeding is nine years’ weeding.”

Mulching – great for soil and plants

Mulch application in the dormant season really helps to control weeds, aids soil moisture retention and improves soil structure as well as visually improving your plantings.

Take pictures

By taking pictures of your garden throughout the year, you can look back and see where you can bring colour to areas that may be bare at certain times, e.g. planting winter or spring flowering bulbs between deciduous shrubs and herbaceous plants.

This simple yet clever hack will help you bring some year-round colour to your garden.

Green manure for empty spaces

Sow green manure seeds on any veg or bedding areas that are to be empty for a period of time - this helps weed control and improves your soil.

What to plant right now

Your local garden centre will be happy to help guide you on what’s suitable for your garden, balcony or even indoor plants if you’re lacking outside space, but here are some ideas of seasonal planting to get you started:

Spring vegetable planting

•Early potatoes

•Beetroot

•Radishes

•Spring onion

•Purple sprouting broccoli

•Lettuce ‘Cut and come again’

•Carrots

•Broad beans

Spring bedding flowers:

•Bellis

•Primrose

•Pansies

•Miniature daffodils

•Polyanthus

Spring planting perennials:

•Astilbe

•Nepeta ‘Catmint’

•Staychs byzantine ‘Lambsear’

•Heuchera

•Rudbeckia

Finally, Martin’s no. 1 tip is to enjoy your garden.

Do not be afraid to try new ideas and indulge your passion for whichever area of gardening you most enjoy.

Happy gardening!

(Martin Slattery is managing director of Greenmile Landscapes based in Cong, Co Mayo).