Spring has finally arrived for many of us. What should we be doing in the garden

A.� The May garden is bursting into life and it is a real tonic after the miserable months of wet that was this winter. It's tempting to take a break, sit back and enjoy the first splashes of colour. But, without wanting to be a killjoy, it is still important not to take eyes off the ball. If our trees, shrubs and annuals perennials are finding things very much more to our liking then so are the weeds. Keep the hoe and gloves handy to avoid some serious weeding later on.

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A.� Rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas should be deadheaded to encourage next year's flowers. Alpines such as aubrietia and arabis should be cut back to 2-3 inches after they have finished flowering.

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A.� This is the time to plant shrubs that can be tender when young like fuchsia, hydrangea and choisya. Finish sowing hardy annual seeds as soon as possible and plant out half-hardy annuals that have been brought up indoors as soon as the risk of frost is over.

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In the vegetable garden, sow runner and french beans and lettuce, thinning out earlier sowings. If you were lucky enough to be able to plant early potatoes they should be earthed up and tomatoes seedlings hardened off.

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A.� If you use weed killer this is the time to apply it as the weeds are at their strongest. Grass should now be cut regularly and you can use the cuttings to start that compost heap.

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