Top jobs for the Easter break

Ruth suggests the tasks worth doing this long weekend

- Ruth Hayes

AT last, we've made it through to the first bank holiday weekend of the year! I tend to think of Easter as the start of the gardening year - the weather is improving, garden centres are full of floral temptations and the itch to get out there and really get fingers back in the soil gets stronger with each passing day.

As I will mention on P10, while it is exciting to be sowing and planting for the year ahead, it pays to be cautious as winter is unlikely to have finished with us yet, and frosts that continue well into April and May can wreak havoc on premature tender plants.

So we must curb our green-fingered impatience and keep summer bedding, tender tubers such as dahlias and cannas and less hardy crops such as runner beans safely undercover for a few more weeks yet.

This isn't much of a hardship as there is plenty to be getting on with now. I'll be using this weekend to add well-rotted compost to the borders to feed the perennials that are emerging strongly from the soil, and will take a few cuttings from the first shoots.

I also need to move a couple of perennials that I've decided will have more space and thrive better elsewhere - this is a good time to do this as they are starting to grow well and the soil is warming up and damp from rain, making it perfect for their roots to settle back down and get established into the soil.

Moving perennials is one of the easiest ways of completely transforming the overall look of your garden, and it also creates a vacant space for ay old leaves other plants.