Why an early Easter is the perfect time to go to ground in the garden

An early Easter is heaven-sent for gardeners. The cold beginnings and ends to the days have held back an English year that has yet to see a proper winter. Without one we would expect primroses and prunus trees to be over already. In fact they are in line with their usual calendar and the soil is still relatively free of new weeds. A long weekend at ground level will bring us in line with the season.

Lawns now need mowing and I will be checking for bare patches and the pits that uninvited rabbits and badgers have dug for their winter sports. Here, I am an apostle of pre-sown strips of fibre, available as Patch Magic from Miracle-Gro. They give quicker and thicker results than usual efforts at reseeding and I thoroughly recommend them, even under trees. They are made of coir fibre, which expands up to four times when first laid and watered. The art is to cut out a rectangle where patching is needed and then to unroll the magic patch and make it level with the adjoining turf. It tends the seed with which it is impregnated and indicates when or if it needs a second watering. When it turns pale brown it needs to be soaked again, whereupon it turns back to a dark brown. The grass seeds in it are a mixture of fescues and I find they germinate densely and evenly.

Patch Magic is invaluable for urban back gardens that have suffered from teenage football or heavy traffic across to a shed during winter. Within three weeks it gives you a bright green, dense covering as the coir fibre rots out of sight. It makes the hazardous business of reseeding fun and easy to master. So far, my wildlife has not used it as a place to have a scuffle.

What sort of grass will grow in the shade? I am always asked this question at garden question times and the answer is Johnsons' lawn seed mixture called Shady Place. It is made up of browntop bents and fescues, and is selected for problematic areas facing north or under neighbours' trees.

Prepare a level area of raked soil, at least 3in deep. Soak it and leave it to dry overnight and then sow the following afternoon. It should germinate within three weeks. In sunny, dry places, try Johnsons' Quick Lawn mixture, which has a pre-seed dressing called Gromax. If the ground remains damp the grass will be up within 14 days, almost before you remember having sown it. These specialised seed mixtures give gardeners what they want the most.

Meanwhile, I will be giving roses what they like the most. I choose Bayer's Toprose nowadays because it includes iron and magnesium, which are good at stopping early leaf-drop. If you have forgotten to prune the shrub roses in winter, it is still not too late to give them a light trim. The result of late pruning is late flowering, which can actually be very welcome as a way of prolonging the roses' season. If you have remembered to prune some and have others left over, you will have a succession of flower.

Elsewhere the main business will be planting. It is much better done if it is assisted by one of the latest encouragements. Miracle-Gro has now extended the thinking behind Patch Magic to its Magic Start, an item for all shrubs and trees. It too contains coir fibre and a balanced mixture of fertilisers. If it is scattered at the bottom of each hole you dig, it will be immediately accessible to the roots and, as the damp filters through the soil, it will release chemicals and store moisture throughout the growing season. Last year I put it under some container-grown border phloxes and they loved it.

I am also a believer in the new fad, mycorrhizals. They are living organisms that can now be bought in packs and used under - and around - the roots of any tree or shrub you are planting.

The Royal Horticultural Society is now in on the act, endorsing mycorrhizal packs at up to £25 each under the brand name Empathy. Mycorrhizals do not stay effective for very long in a packet, so this is not a product to be stockpiled. When fresh, they encourage a much bigger and wider expanse of fibrous roots on a newly planted item. The greater width takes up more goodness and also anchors the plant more firmly in the soil.

I decided to "go mycorrhizal" after talking with one of our top growers of big, mature shrubs and trees, Tendercare in Buckinghamshire. It uses them to hurry along its big specimen plants and convinced me that I should do the same. The first two years of growth on a newly planted magnolia have vindicated the decision.

Mycorrhizals are the answer for older gardeners who are keen to see quicker results. It can hurt to spend more on preparation than on a plant itself, but it is an excellent way of blowing a bit of your pension and going for growth where you most want it.

Sceptics say that mycorrhizals are present anyway in rotted natural leaf-mould but not all of us have it, especially in towns. I am happy to pay and be sure of the results.

What are my planting tips of the moment? An early Easter still leaves time for planting this year's lilies, and garden centres have bulbs on offer.

Look no further than Lilium regale, best in its purple flushed form, not the pure white regale Album. This lily has everything: ease of cultivation, willingness to grow in lime or in pots, and the most heavenly scent in early July.

When it has flowered, leave the heads to set the big brown seeds, which you can then collect up and sow in a box and expect to germinate easily. They can then be pricked out and set out in rows outdoors next year. After one more season they will have built up flowering-size bulbs by the dozen for 2017. Lilium regale is the easiest lily to propagate but few owners realise this virtue.

I will also be succumbing to the new white ribes, or flowering currant, called Elkington's White. It is all over good garden centres and experts assure me that it is now the best white on the market. I already grow and admire the big-flowered White Icicle, so this one has to be special to be better.

It is extremely easy to grow, reaching about 6ft when mature. Like all ribes, it can be picked when first in bud and brought indoors to flower even earlier in a vase. I have very high hopes of it, my besetting weakness at this lovely time of year.

Photographs: swns.com; Kit Young/Gap; Sue Heath/Gap Photos

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