Spring garden prep for Sydney

Spring is when a Sydney garden wakes up. The soil warms, the grass starts growing and the weeds do too. What you do now decides how the garden gets through summer. Here's a short list to work through.

Walk round after rain. Look for where water sat over winter. A soggy corner, a puddle by the back door or moss on the path all point to drainage. It's easier to fix now than after a summer storm. Our drainage page explains the usual fixes.

Clear the winter mess. Rake up leaves and fallen branches. Pull weeds now, while they're small and before they flower and seed.

Wake the lawn up. Once the grass is growing, feed it. If the ground is hard, aerate it. That means pushing holes into the soil so water and air get down to the roots. Then top-dress it, which means spreading a thin layer of sandy soil over the lawn to fill the low spots.

Plant now. Spring planting gives roots time to grow before the heat. Pick plants that suit your sun, soil and wind. Water new plants deeply, then mulch around them.

Mulch after rain. A layer of mulch holds water in the soil and keeps weeds down. Put it on when the soil is moist, and keep it clear of plant stems and the house walls.

Prune with care. Trim hedges and shrubs that have finished flowering. Leave spring-flowering plants until after they flower, or you'll cut off the flowers.

Test the watering. Turn the system on and walk round while it runs. Look for leaks, blocked drippers and sprays that hit the fence. Then set the timer for summer. Our irrigation page covers repairs and new systems.

Raise the mower. A lawn cut a little longer shades its own roots and copes better with heat. Cutting it short in spring is one of the main reasons it burns in the first hot week.

If the garden gets away from you every spring, regular garden care visits keep it in hand, with the green waste taken away. Not sure where to start? Try our garden check.