From sowing to mulching, staking to dividing, these tasks will help give you a glorious summer garden
Before all the soil disappears under new growth, empty your compost bins and spread out the contents as a mulch. A winter of being slowly digested should mean the contents have rotted down deliciously to dark, soft, rich matter. But it may be a case of sieving the good from the not yet there – large twigs, eggshells, things that take longer to break down. Once you’ve got the good stuff out, use it as mulch on bare soils around emerging perennials, shrubs, fruit bushes and trees.
