Growth Plans

Get out into the garden with our guide to the best spring plants to spruce up your outdoor spaces.

Calling all green-fingered gardening fiends! With the start of spring the ground is thawing and it’s time to get planting again. However, if you’re just getting started with your gardening passion, our handy guide to some easy wins will have your garden looking tip-top in no time.

Courgettes are a great bit of produce to grow at home, so long as you have the space for them. These marrows are best sown in mid-to-late April. Because they’re such large plants they need to be spread out. The seeds should ideally be placed at least 90 cm apart and thrive best in a sheltered location in full sun needing around eight weeks to grow.

Lettuce

Easy to grow and a great salad staple, cultivating lettuce is a great starting place for a beginner. The seeds can be planted any time between March and September, so you don’t need to worry about missing your window. However, if the temperature is still a bit chilly, they’re best planted with some protection against the cold, either from horticultural fleece or plastic covers. The seeds need to be placed in full sunlight in moisture retentive soil 30 cm apart and will take between 30 and 70 days to grow.

Monarda

Monarda is a perennial flower which blooms in summer and autumn and is best suited to flowerbeds with chalky moist soil. The blooms will thrive best in full sun but can also survive in part shade should it be necessary. The seeds should be planted 45 cm apart and can grow to 90 cm high. This aromatic bloom will definitely bring the bees buzzing, giving the flower its nickname, Bee Balm.

Cornflower

Cornflowers are a great plant for those who don’t have a lot of space to spare as the seeds only need to be spaced 15 cm apart to thrive. These flowers do best when planted in direct sunlight and well-drained soil. Known for their particular shade of blue, but also popping up in other colours, cornflowers make a great ornamental edition to the garden. Once they’re grown, they require very little care, making them ideal for those just starting out in the garden.

Spring onion

As their name might suggest, spring onions are an ideal spring crop. In fact, they can be planted any time between March and October, meaning that if you start early you can have fresh onions for most of the year. Since they don’t need much space or soil, they’re good space-saving crops for those with a smaller garden to grow. The seeds only need to be planted 10 cm apart and 20 mm deep and will produce a finished onion within eight weeks.

Marigolds

Marigolds are a popular garden staple due to their cheery yellow colouring and easy to care for nature. When planting marigolds, simply sow the seeds across a moistened patch of soil, then once the seeds have germinated, remove the weakest sprouts, leaving the remaining ones 10 to 20 cm apart. While growing, marigolds don’t require anything more than regular watering, but they will die off as soon as they experience frost, so make sure that winter is well and truly over before planting.