Garden Trading X Soto Gardens - Five Jobs for Early Spring
23rd Mar 2026
Five Jobs for Early Spring
Will Williams on what to do now — and the tools to do it with
Late March is one of the most rewarding moments in the gardening calendar. The soil is beginning to warm, the light is stretching into the evenings, and the plants are stirring back to life. After the quiet months of winter, there is a real urgency to getting outside — and a real satisfaction in knowing you are ahead of the season.
At Soto Gardens, we always say that the work you do now in these first weeks of spring determines how your garden performs for the rest of the year. Here, Will Williams shares the five jobs he always prioritises in early spring, along with the tools from Garden Trading that make each one a pleasure rather than a chore.
01. Preparing Borders for Planting
Before anything can go in, the ground needs to be ready. Late March is the ideal moment to get your borders in shape.
Start by clearing away winter debris: fallen leaves, old stems, and any weeds. The soil will still be moist, so tread lightly and work from the edges inward to avoid compacting the ground.
Once the surface is clear, loosen the top layer with a fork without disturbing deeper soil. This improves drainage and allows you to incorporate fresh compost or well-rotted manure before planting.
Remove perennial weeds such as couch grass, bindweed, or dock completely. A little patience now saves frustration later.
Garden Trading Trowel
Perfect for working compost into tight spots between emerging perennials, and for cutting out stubborn weed roots without disturbing your border planting.
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02. Refreshing Compost in Pots
Container plants have been living off the same compost through winter. March is the moment to give them a proper refresh.
If your pots have been outside through the cold months, the compost inside will have compacted, lost nutrients, and potentially developed a waterlogged layer at the base. Even if the plant looks healthy, it will perform significantly better with some attention now.
For smaller containers, tip the plant out gently and refresh the compost entirely, working fresh material around the roots before potting back up. For larger pots where this is not practical, scrape away the top three or four centimetres of old compost and replace with fresh, mixed with a slow-release fertiliser granule.
This is also a good moment to check whether any pot-bound plants need moving up to a larger container — if roots are circling the base or emerging from drainage holes, a size up will make a significant difference to growth this season.
Garden Trading Hand Fork
Ideal for loosening compacted compost around root balls without causing damage — particularly useful when refreshing pots that have been sitting undisturbed through winter.
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Garden Trading Watering Can
After re-potting, a gentle but thorough watering helps settle compost around roots. A rose head attachment gives an even, gentle flow that won't wash fresh compost to one side.
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03. Pruning Evergreen Shrubs
Many gardeners overlook evergreens at this time of year — but late March, just before the new growth flush, is one of the best moments to shape them.
Evergreen shrubs such as pittosporum, choisya, osmanthus, and photinia can all be pruned now to maintain shape and encourage compact, healthy growth. Wait until the risk of hard frost has passed in your area.
Remove winter-damaged shoots first, cutting back to healthy growth. Then remove crossing or inward-growing branches and lightly trim the outer surface to encourage bushiness. Avoid hard pruning into old wood unless the plant regenerates well from it.
Box and yew can be lightly trimmed now if needed, though major cuts are better left until later in spring. For lavender, cut back last year’s growth by around a third—never into old wood, just enough to maintain shape.
Garden Trading Trowel
Useful for clearing the ground around the base of shrubs before pruning — removing debris and weeds gives you better visibility and access to the lower branches.
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04. Dividing Perennials
Lifting and dividing established perennials is one of the most satisfying jobs in the spring garden — and highly beneficial for the plants themselves.
Herbaceous perennials in the ground for three or more years often benefit from division. Left undisturbed, they can become congested, producing fewer flowers and less vigorous growth. Dividing refreshes the plant, spreads it in the garden, and provides material to fill gaps or share.
Lift the clump carefully with a fork, working around the root ball. Divide by hand for loose-rooted plants like geraniums or astrantia, or use two forks back-to-back for tougher clumps like hemerocallis. Replant younger outer portions and compost the exhausted centre.
Good candidates for March division include: agapanthus, astrantia, crocosmia, echinacea, helenium, and ornamental grasses. Leave spring-flowering perennials like primulas until after blooming.
Garden Trading Hand Fork
For lifting smaller perennial clumps and working through the root ball to identify the best division points — far less damaging to root systems than a spade.
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Garden Trading Garden Trug
Carry divided sections around the garden without returning repeatedly to a central pile. A trug keeps root balls contained and moist while you prepare the new planting holes.
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05. Planting Early Spring Containers
Late March is one of the best moments of the year to get plants in the ground or into pots. The soil is warming, the light is returning, and anything you plant now has weeks of gentle growing conditions ahead of summer.
Whether filling a border or creating a container display for a terrace, early spring planting sets the tone for the season. Get it right now and your garden will reward you with colour and interest from April through to autumn.
Our pre-designed collections take the guesswork out entirely. The Soto team has assembled combinations for borders and pots, curated by colour, height, and flowering time. Romantic, bold, or naturalistic—there’s a ready-to-plant collection for every style.
Browse the Soto Spring Collections — pre-designed border schemes and pot combinations, ready to plant this weekend.
Garden Trading Trowel
The workhorse of container planting — use it to scoop fresh compost, create planting holes, and firm in around root balls without damaging them.
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Garden Trading
Watering Can
After planting, water thoroughly until it runs freely from the drainage holes. Use a gentle rose head to avoid disturbing freshly planted rootballs or washing compost out of the container.
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Garden Trading Garden Trug
Carry your plants, compost, and tools from spot to spot as you work through your containers — far easier than multiple trips back to the potting bench.
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A Note from Wills
These five jobs are not the only things worth doing in late March — but they are the ones that, in our experience, make the greatest difference to how the garden performs through the rest of the season. Think of this time as an investment: a few focused hours now pays back in months of colour, growth, and satisfaction.
The right tools make every one of these tasks more pleasurable. We have found that well-made, properly weighted hand tools — the kind that feel good in the hand and do not need replacing every couple of seasons — genuinely change how much you enjoy being outside.
Get outside. The garden is ready for you.
Will Williams, Co-founder, Soto Gardens
Soto Gardens · In partnership with Garden Trading
