The weather of late has us all itching to get back out and get our hands into the dirt, soil, compost and start the gardening for 2026. What can one safely do now without causing harm to one’s favourite garden gems? Well, let’s begin with fruit trees.

Fruit Trees

With the comfortable days and snow‑free yards, it is prime time to get the trees back into shape for the coming growing season. Remember to always start with the three D’s when going about the task of pruning: Dead, Dying, or Diseased material. Once you have removed that material, you can then step back and see what needs to further be removed in order to keep the health and structure of the trees in prime condition.

Besides fruit trees, most of our ornamental deciduous trees can also have a once‑over. Thinning and correction of poor structure can all be undertaken now. Should the trees be of a size that makes it too hard to comfortably tackle yourself, then a call out to a certified arborist should be in order.

Shrubs

Shrubs are next on the to‑do list. Remember, when approaching shrubs, besides the three D’s we need to think about their bloom times.

• Shrubs that bloom before or at the same time as forsythia or lilacs are not to be touched until after bloom.
• Those that bloom after forsythia or lilac can be tended to now—hydrangeas, dogwoods, and most spirea, the exception being Bridal Wreath spirea.

Shaping or heavy pruning now means no flower or little flower come bloom time.

Perennial Beds

Perennial bed clean‑up can be started. Soft raking and removal of fall detritus, cutting back of those left up for winter or missed in the fall can be undertaken. Should some later winter days rear up, then we can always garden inside by potting up our cannas, dahlias, or starting some of one’s favourite veggies or annuals.

Soil Tillage

I wouldn’t be doing a lot of soil tillage at this time as some areas may still have ground frost. Should one till frozen soil, the structure can be damaged, which means a setback for planting out the area later. Once the frost has left the ground, we can begin to think about directly planting cool‑loving veggies into our veggie plots.

Cool‑Season Colour

We have not seen any cool‑loving pansies, ranunculus, or primroses yet. However, once they do appear, they can be planted out in pots or into our perennial beds to give us the colour we have all been craving since our gardens went to sleep.

I hope this gives you all some ideas on what one can comfortably be doing at this time of year out in the garden.

We would like to thank Chris Savage, whose horticultural expertise is widely respected across our region, for this special contribution to our website.  His late‑winter insights offer clear, sensible direction for gardeners eager to get outside without getting ahead of the season.