What a lot can change in a week. Spring really-o truly-o has arrived and for us, the garden visitor season has started. There is a sense of slight panic as we tackle the tasks which we had hoped to get completed in winter. Do not delay any longer on winter pruning (all deciduous trees except cherries and related family members such as flowering peaches and almonds). And if you plan a hard prune and shape on evergreen trees and shrubs, including rhododendrons and vireyas, do it now. The plants will be ready to put on their spring growth and that vigour will help them recover from hard pruning or bad pruning.

• If you have rhododendrons which are looking a little sad, taking out all the dead wood can improve their appearance quickly. If all or most of the leaves are silver, you had a problem with thrips last season (nasty little leaf suckers). You can not turn the silver leaves green again though the new growth will appear in green, to start with at least. In a small garden, you might as well take the whole plant out and replace it with something which is going to stay healthier and not need spraying. In a larger garden, open up around the plant to allow more air movement and light (thrips do not appear to like drafts) and give the plant a heavy hair cut. You can cut back to bare wood on a strong growing plant, to rejuvenate it. Sacrifice the flowers this season for a better looking, bushy plant next season.
• If you are inspired by vegetables, get hold of the Kings Seed Catalogue (also available on line, we are told) for the most interesting range in the country. But shun the strawberry spinach which should be on every regional council banned list and soon.
• It is a critical month in the vegetable garden. Get the ground ready for the summer crops which will be planted out in four to six weeks time. Dig in green crops, clear weeds, cultivate the soil, incorporate compost and generally get the soil rich and friable if you want good results.
• If you are after early harvests, start tomato seeds, corn, melons, cucumbers, capsicums, courgettes and all the rest. But do it in pots under cover. A cloche placed on the intended site now will warm the soil faster for planting out your tender seedlings. It is much cheaper to grow from seed than to buy small plants.
• Keep planting peas and potatoes from now on to ensure a succession of crops. Early salad vegetables can be grown under cloches to give them the additional warmth and protection they need.
• If you have a glasshouse, you need to remember that a sunny day can overheat your tender seedlings remarkably quickly.

 Henry Mitchell summarised the panic of spring when he wrote:

There is nothing like the first hot days of spring when the gardener stops wondering if it’s too soon to plant the dahlias and starts wondering if it’s too late.