We have enjoyed glorious weather over the first few days of ‘lockdown’ and most of us will be very grateful to be able to get into the garden for fresh air, exercise and the pleasure in seeing new life return to our sodden soil.
However, even gardens are not exempt from the challenges of Covid-19 and hopefully the following tips will help.
- Don’t worry about collecting grass cuttings when mowing the lawn. Our green bins are no longer being collected so just take the collection box off the mower and leave the grass cuttings to provide a useful mulch on the lawn. You may need to mow more frequently to avoid the ‘hay meadow’ look but this is a win/win situation: increased exercise and soil improvement too!
- Compost all your garden waste. Even if you don’t have a compost bin or heap, a tidy pile in a corner of the garden will soon start to break down and provide useful organic matter. Larger woody items will just have to be stored until things return to normal.
- Garden supplies. Many of the online plant and seed suppliers are still working, e.g. Thompson & Morgan. The Grosvenor Garden Centre will deliver and Morton’s Dairies can deliver compost with the milk. It’s also worth trying to germinate all those old seeds we have saved over the years – they are surprisingly viable even after many years.
- Please be a good neighbour – if you notice a neighbour struggling to keep their garden under control if, for example, they are ill or their regular gardener is not visiting, then please help out where you can. Just follow the social distancing guidelines.
Stay safe and keep gardening – there shouldn’t be a single weed left in Westminster Park!