When spring starts doing its thing, it’s often hard to know where to start in the garden.
These spring gardening tips will get you off the mark. The idea isn’t to pressurise you with 40 things you have to do.
Instead,I want just want to set our some reminders of some of things you can do early in the gardening season to get your garden and plants off to a good start.
So use these spring gardening tips in a way that suits you – do some, do them all, or do none at all if you already have a plan.
In any case, get out in the garden and enjoy gardening!
Spring Gardening Tips
🌱 1. Start with a soil check
Healthy plants begin with healthy soil—test yours before planting.
🌼 2. Tidy up borders
Clear leaves and dead growth to make way for new life.
🍓 3. Plant strawberries now
The earlier they go in, the sweeter the harvest.
🪴 4. Clean your pots
Old pots can harbour pests—give them a good scrub before reusing.
🌞 5. Choose a sunny day to weed
Dry roots pull up easier and don’t re-root.Leave hoed off annual weeds in the sun to shrivel
💦 6. Water early, not late
Morning watering helps prevent mildew and slugs.
🧄 7. Pop garlic in pots
It’s not too late—and it helps repel aphids too!
🐝 8. Add pollinator plants.
Think lavender, foxgloves and comfrey to support spring bees.
🌸 9. Deadhead daffodils
But leave the leaves to feed the bulbs.
🌿 10. Divide perennials
Lift and split plants like hostas and geraniums to give them new life.
🍃 11. Compost everything you clear
Waste nothing—your future soil will thank you.
🧤 12. Keep gloves handy
Spring is the season for spontaneous weeding.
🌻 13. Sow hardy annuals outside
Calendula, nigella and cornflowers thrive in cool spring soil.
👩🌾 14. Mulch bare soil.
A 5cm mulch keeps weeds down and moisture in.
🌧️ 15. Set up a water butt.
Save rainwater now for drier days ahead.
✂️ 16. Prune roses.
Cut just above an outward-facing bud and remove any dead wood.
🍃 17. Feed shrubs and roses.
A slow-release feed now gives great results later.
📅 18. Keep a garden journal
Track what’s planted, what’s thriving—and what isn’t.
🪱 19. Look after the worms.
Avoid digging too much—they’re your soil’s best workers.
🍅 20. Start tomatoes indoors.
A warm windowsill gets them off to a strong start.
🌾 21. Plant bare-root shrubs now.
They’re cheaper than potted ones and establish quickly in spring.
🌿 22. Cut back ornamental grasses.
Trim to a few inches before new growth gets going.
🦋 23. Leave a wild patch.
Early insects need shelter and nectar-rich weeds.
🌻 24. Start sunflower seeds indoors
They’re fun for kids and grow fast in spring warmth.
🍽️ 25. Grow herbs near your kitchen
Mint, chives and parsley love a sunny doorstep.
🪟 26. Clean your greenhouse.
A wipe-down now prevents pests and boosts light levels.
🌬️ 27. Ventilate cold frames
Let air in on mild days to prevent mould and damping-off.
🪲 28. Watch for vine weevil grubs
Check containers for curled white grubs eating roots.
🌷 29. Mark where bulbs are
You’ll avoid disturbing them when planting summer bedding later.
🌿 30. Top up raised beds
Add compost or soil conditioner before sowing.
👨👩👧 31. Get the kids involved
Quick wins like radishes or cress keep them interested.
🧼 32. Disinfect tools
Prevent spreading diseases by wiping secateurs between plants.
🌸 33. Check climbers for damage
Tie in loose stems and remove any that snapped in winter.
🍂 34. Use leaf mould as mulch
It’s free, organic, and loved by woodland plants.
🍀 35. Spot and lift perennial weeds
Catch bindweed and ground elder early, before they spread.
🍅 36. Sow hardy veg outdoors
Try carrots, beetroot, spring onions, and peas now.
🪴 37. Repot houseplants
Give roots room to grow before they move outside for summer.
🌻 38. Harden off seedlings
Toughen them up by placing outside for a few hours each day.
🐌 39. Set up slug defences
Try copper tape, beer traps or crushed eggshells early.
📦 40. Organise your seed box
Sort by month so you don’t miss sowing windows.
Martin Cole has been an avid plant lover and gardener for more than 20 years and loves to talk and write about gardening. In 2006 he was a finalist in the BBC Gardener of the Year competition. He is a member of the National dahlia Society.
He previously lived in London and Sydney, Australia, where he took a diploma course in Horticultural studies and is now based in North Berwick in Scotland. He founded GardeningStepbyStep.com in 2012. The website is aimed at everybody who loves plants or has been bitten by the gardening bug and wants to know more.
Gardening Step by Step has been cited by Thompson and Morgan, the UK’s largest mail order plant retailer, as a website that publishes expert gardening content.