Five spring gardening tips for new homeowners
9 March 2026Sunshine breaking through the clouds, bright yellow daffodils popping up and evenings stretching a little longer – are we finally saying goodbye to winter and hello to spring?
Spring is the ideal season to prepare your garden for the sunnier months ahead. As the soil warms and daylight hours increase, growing conditions improve, allowing you to sow seeds and establish new plants. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or settling into a new home, it’s a great opportunity to shape an outdoor space you can enjoy throughout the year.
Gardening is also fantastic for mental wellbeing. After one of the wettest starts to the year on record, the arrival of Spring feels especially welcome. Spring gardening offers a fresh start, a chance to keep active and channel energy into something rewarding. According to the RHS Gardening Report 2025, 77% of respondents said that gardening had a positive impact on their mental health, while 76% found it helped to keep them active (source: RHS).
Ready to pull on your gardening boots and grab a trowel? Here are our five top spring gardening tips to help your garden thrive:
1. Prepare the soil
Before you do anything, prepare the soil. After a long winter, we bet your flower beds and planters need a good tidy up. As temperatures start to rise, now is the perfect time to keep on top of weeds with regular hoeing. If the soil is moist in early spring, you can also lay down mulch to help prevent weeds, retain moisture and regulate temperature.
To prepare the soil for planting, we also recommend using a garden fork to loosen up the soil and break up any clumps so that the soil is well aerated. Creating a fine textured surface will give seeds and bulbs the best start. New build gardens in particular can benefit from soil improvement, adding organic matter such as compost or well-rotted manure will help establish healthier planting conditions for the future.
2. Cut the lawn
If you have purchased a property from Devonshire Homes, you will enjoy a turfed rear garden and now is a great opportunity to give that lawn some TLC. We know that the sight of an overgrown lawn in the winter can drive a gardener mad, but don’t be tempted to cut the grass too early. You want to wait until temperatures are at a consistent 6 to 8°C when growth begins. From April, you can also apply weekly weed and feed treatments to encourage a lush, weed-free lawn.
Top tip: Each time you mow the lawn, cut from a different angle. This will thicken the grass and stop the blades growing just one way!
3. Get planting
You will have an idea of what you would like to see bloom in your garden. Some gardeners may prefer plenty of leafy hedging and shrubs, some may want to see an abundance of colour. Shrubs are best planted in the autumn but if you act quickly, you can still plant some in early spring. Just remember they will need extra watering as temperatures start to rise.
For colourful flowers, Spring is the time to plant early-season bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, primroses, hellebores and pansies. Keen for some colour in the summer? After the last frost plant up some easy-to-grow dahlias, cannas and cosmos.
Always dreamt of growing your own produce? Most vegetables are grown outdoors in the summer but if you are keen to grow tomatoes, you can sow tomato seeds from now. They should be sown indoors between late February and early April. This will ensure that your seedlings grow and will be ready to be transferred outdoors in May to early June.
4. Look after your garden wildlife
Our gardens play a critical role in supporting biodiversity. Even small outdoor spaces provide valuable food, shelter and nesting areas for birds, insects and hedgehogs.
March marks the start of bird nesting and mating season in the UK, so continue to put feed out for birds and maintain nest boxes. To support breeding, feed birds high-energy foods such as mealworms and sunflower hearts. For hedgehogs, you can put out meaty cat or dog food and a shallow dish of water as these little creatures will be hungry as they emerge from hibernation.
5. Spruce up the patio ready for sunnier days
As you look forward to spending more time in your garden, Spring is the ideal time to give it a thorough clean after the winter months. Our patios at Devonshire Homes are solid and well-pointed and designed to be low maintenance. All that’s needed is a little upkeep to make sure it stays looking smart.
Regular hosing down and a simple brushing off with a stiff brush should help clear any build-up of moss, algae and dirt on the surface area. Winter can be hard on a patio so for more stubborn build up, a pressure washer can be effective in restoring your patio to its best condition.
Top tip: Check the pressure of your machine on a small area first. Start off with the lowest pressure and build up if needed!
We hope you have found our top five spring gardening tips useful. If you would like any more advice, refer to the Devonshire Homes Gardening Guide created in partnership with St Johns Garden Centre. You’ll discover several top tips on how to keep your new garden looking smart for years to come. If you would like a copy of the guide, please email mail@devonshirehomes.co.uk.