A few hours work with a wire rake will remove any moss and then it’s on to the hands and knees to dig out the perennial weeds (or use an application of moss and weedkiller).

It is also the best time to feed the lawn as it gives the grass a good head start on those pesky weeds. A good healthy lawn is the best way to keep down the moss and weeds as it literally grows too thick for the weeds to have a chance.

The garden responses to the warmer weather and longer days with a flourish of colour. The daffodils are at their very peak, the tulips starting to show their full beauty. The trees are also showing they can compete with blossom from the fruit trees and the delicious flowers of the magnolia’s.

If you have a camera, it’s a great time to take some great images of these wonderful plants. These are just a few I took in half an hour last Wednesday morning.

From Left to right: Tulipa ‘Purple Prince’, Berberis darwinii , Chaenomeles ‘Knap Hill Scarlet, Prunus ‘Taihaku’

Where’s the inspiration here?

Well for me it was how the straight lines naturally took the eye through the field to a solitary oak tree. The way the light was falling across the tilled ground provided lines of light and shade. It immediately came to me that I could achieve the same effect with cut grass, the way the mower provides beautifully regular, even lines in the grass.

It also reminded me of the beautifully raked gravel gardens in Japanese temples, could their inspiration have come from the neat lines of the paddy fields? Who knows (probably loads of people)?

Well that’s the way my mind works!

It is just the right time of year to plant bare root stock, which is the most economical and to my mind the best way of buying any fruit tree!

Apple trees are by far the most common choice, but you can also purchase other trained fruit trees such as pear, plum and quince.