It’s almost spring but the garden’s a shambles? The eight tasks to whip it into shape

I’ve got perennials to cut back, failing rhubarb to move and bare spots opening up in every bed. There are seeds to sow, weeds to pull, an aphid outbreak to control and grass to mow. It’s crazy out there.

It always is at this time of year. Even if you have been steadily tending your patch all winter, once temperatures start to climb, a whole new level of activity is required. As plants wake up, gardeners knuckle down.

With the official start of spring just days away, here are eight of the most urgent steps to take in your garden.

1. Cut back perennials

Now that we’ve stopped cutting our perennials close to the ground the moment flowering finished in autumn, it can be hard to get around to doing it at all. Now it’s time to remove all those dead stalks, spent blooms and dried leaves. Many of these plants are already starting to reshoot, which means you will have avoided the bare-ground stage entirely. Cut just above the new growth and you can immediately bask in the new wave of green. Now is also the time to dig up and divide some herbaceous perennials, including edible ones such as rhubarb.

2. Prune shrubs

Just because you like your westringias, correas and sea box to have a naturalistic look, doesn’t mean these shrubs should be left to their own devices. Getting a “natural” effect can take some intervention. Particularly vigorous shrubs, such as Rhagodia spinescens, can be clipped multiple times a year and still look like they have been sculpted only by wind and wild animals.

While any hard pruning of shrubs that are currently flowering will diminish the display, a light trim now can help stop stems getting too open and leggy.

3. Plant seeds

By this time of year it’s hard not to get fixated on tomatoes, basil, capsicums, cucumbers and all the other summer produce to come. While it’s still too cold to attempt any of this fare outside, you can start propagating these crops in warm, sunny spots indoors with a view to transplanting them into your garden once soils are warmer. Just getting started will make summer seem one step closer.

4. Edit prolific self-seeders

Hard as it is to pull plants just as they are beginning to flower, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Euphorbias, echiums and borage are just some of the prolific self-seeders starting to bloom now. Dig surplus plants out to avoid the risk of forgetting them later and then having them go from flower to seed and spreading even further. If you have gaps elsewhere you can transplant any plants you remove, but make sure to keep the water up until they are established.

5. Keep your eye out for aphids

Pests can upend even the best-laid plans, and aphids can be especially problematic as the weather warms in late winter and spring. These sap-sucking insects like to gather in clusters along the stems on the underside of leaves and will distort foliage and prompt outbreaks of sooty mould.

Depending on the size of the infestation, you can scratch them off with your fingers, wipe them off with water and dishwashing liquid or spray them with horticultural oil. Avoid future outbreaks by luring ladybirds, lacewings, hoverflies and other aphid predators to your patch by planting alyssum, parsley, dill and Queen Anne’s lace.

6. Indoor plants

While you can be less hands-on with your house plants through the coldest months, by this time of year you should be showering them with attention. Fertilise them as they return to active growth and, as the days get longer and warmer, increase your watering. These plants might be inside but they are not immune to the seasons.

7. Use your compost

Rich, ripe compost can seem so precious that it’s hard to actually tip it into the garden. But there is no gain in saving the stuff and, if you let compost get too old, it can start to lose some of its most nutritious effects. Best to get all the lively goodness pepping up your soil now. By emptying your bins or bays you will also make room for all the weeds you are currently pulling and the stems you are cutting, which means you will have a new round of compost to apply later.

8. Seek inspiration

Check out what other people have done. Open Gardens Victoria turns 10 this year and its next season of openings starts in early September. My Open Garden features gardens from other states too, including NSW. Those new to gardening might also glean inspiration from The Rookie Gardener. This guide discusses all the fundamentals, including how to keep tending your patch once the novelty has worn off.

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