With the longer days hopefully comes more sunshine and lots more time in the garden! I’m hoping the weather will be kind to us over the Easter weekend, meaning we can get our hands muddy pottering around and ticking off some jobs as the growing season really kicks off.

Here are my plans for the long weekend:

Seed sowing season is in full swing and I’m running out of room on my windowsills! Things are waking up in the greenhouse too so there’s already lots of watering to keep me busy.

With seedlings, it can be easy to damage them if you overwater or are a little too enthusiastic with the watering can! That’s why I love misting my seedlings and seed trays with my spray gun (Multi Spray Ultramax). The mist is so delicate and fine enough to soak the seedlings without flattening them.

I always mist in the morning at this time of year while the nights can still be a little cold. This reduces risk of a cold snap damaging any damp seedlings overnight.

As my seedlings grow and I start to start to pot them on I want to ensure they stay happy and healthy. To do this I always try to get into a routine of feeding my seedlings every couple of weeks!

This year I’m trying out some home-made nettle fertiliser. I’ve got some ‘brewing’ in my BioMix and will continue to give this a mix every couple of days so it’s all ready to start feeding my seedlings and giving them that boost as spring gets going!

As soon as the soil and air warms up the garden comes alive and not just with spring colour! The bees arrive ready to enjoy the spring blooms but we also begin to see lots of unwelcome pests decide to pay our precious plants a visit!

I like to try and ensure I keep on top of pests by netting some of my vegetable beds early, using hoops made from bits of piping and netting to create a cover which should keep most critters out! I’ll be making some more over these over the weekend so everything is prepped as my beds start to fill with precious vegetables.

I grow so much in pots as I love the flexibility of being able to adjust and move things as they grow and I find it means I can pack so much more into small spaces. Pots allow me to grow on different levels too, adding interest around my garden.

I particularly love using them in the greenhouse and over the weekend I’m going to get all of last year’s pots out and give them a good clean ready for the new season! This job has been made so much easier by using the Hozelock Car Brush! It allows me to give the pots a really good scrub and it’s so satisfying knowing they’ll be ready for the season ahead!

It’s easy to get carried away at this time of year with lots of jobs in the garden. There’s always something to do but remember to make sure you take the time to enjoy the gardening waking up.

Stop and enjoy the bulbs coming into bloom and the garden coming to life. There’s so much to love about this time of year as we prep for the season ahead so enjoy it and happy gardening!

Amy from Instagram’s @Chicksandveg, is one of Hozelock’s brand ambassadors for 2021. Amy started her gardening journey a few years ago having moved to a new home with an overgrown and unloved garden. After the loss of her best friend, she turned to her garden as a way to keep her mind and hands busy. Her love of gardening has become her favourite (and most committed) hobby and she truly believes everyone should experience that feeling of harvesting homegrown veg and picking beautiful blooms.