Anyone with a garden urged to plant one bulb now to get it ready for summer | Express.co.uk

March is the perfect time to start getting your garden ready for summer and certain plants should be planted now to ensure they’ll grow in time. After the warmer weather in early March, you’ll likely be thinking about how you can make your outdoor space look great this year.

Bulbs are useful for adding colour to spring borders and can bring your garden to life. For summer-flowering, you should plant gladioli now which can provide dramatic, tall blooms that are scented. Gladioli are often known as sword lilies due to their long, pointed leaves - the flowers come in a range of colours and can help brighten up your garden.

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They are the perfect flower for bringing colour to any border, providing good contrast with grasses and other flowering plants.

You should aim to plant in groups of at least six, as the more bulbs that are grouped together, the better the display. Typically, 25 to 50 bulbs may be needed to make an impressive show.

Planting gladioli in March ensures they bloom in early to mid-summer, as they take about 70 to 90 days to flower.

It also allows strong root development in frost-free soil before the summer heat.

For continuous blooms, you can plant in intervals every two weeks through late spring.

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Other bulbs you could plant now include dahlias for bright, long-lasting flowers in various colors, lilies for fragrant flowers, or begonias which are ideal for shady areas.

March is also the perfect time to prune roses, trim back dead growth on perennials, and tidy flower beds by removing weeds and edging borders.

If you have a greenhouse, now is a good time to clean its glass, check for pests, and begin hardening off seedlings before planting them outside.

You should also make sure to mulch flower beds which helps to suppress weeds and retain moisture.