Next, take out any weeds that have appeared during the winter, then fork the surface of the soil over to fluff it up slightly.Work your way carefully round clumps of bulbs that are just nosing through and dormant crowns of perennials that may not be very visible yet. Lastly, spread a mulch all over the exposed soil, making a continuous layer an inch or two deep.

You can use your own home-made garden compost, which costs you nothing and enriches the ground since worms will quickly drag the rich crumbly organic matter into the ground and turn it to humus. Or if you want a longer-lasting weed-smothering effect, it's worth splashing out on chipped bark. It is quite good value for money since it lasts in most gardens for two years, so it saves you a lot of routine work during that time - and only wants topping up at the end of two years.Whatever you use, a mulch earns its keep over the next six months by reducing moisture loss from the soil and is rewarding since an hour or two of work makes the garden look instantly 100 per cent smarter. It really kick-starts the gardening year.