Twist blanket weed out of ponds with a long stick.

Mow lawns more frequently and lower the cutting height if grass is growing very strongly.

Thin out seedlings of hardy annuals sown directly into borders.

Many spring-flowering shrubs can be pruned as soon as their flowers have started to fade. Any shoots that have carried flowers can be cut back, shortening them to shape the shrub and control its size and vigour. Forsythia can grow large and ungainly if left to its own devices, so prune to give the shrub a definite shape and form. This and other shrubs, such as <PLANTID=88>Berberis darwinnii</PLANTID>, are sometimes grown as hedges, so can be pruned to give a more formal structure. All the flowering stems of <PLANTID=9016>Prunus triloba</PLANTID> can be pruned to their woody base, while selective pruning on philadelphus and weigela stops them getting large and woody.

Before planting out bedding plants raised in your greenhouse or that you have bought, get them used to outdoor conditions. This is referred to as hardening off, and is simply the process of gradually weaning plants away from warm, indoor conditions and acclimatising them to the variable weather outside. Pots and trays of bedding plants can be placed on the patio during the day, but moved back under cover at night. Alternatively, place them into cold frames and open the lid each morning, but close at night. Do this each day for a couple of weeks and the plants will have hardened off enough for them to be planted out.

Sometimes buds on the stems of apple and pear trees remain dormant and don't develop. This isn't a problem unless you are trying to train the tree into a formal shape and need a shoot to grow from the exact position of the dormant bud. Notching is a technique you can use to try and force it into growth. Use a sharp knife to cut out a small piece of bark just above the bud. Do this during the growing season and the sap flowing along the stem will be directed towards the bud instead of by-passing it, and should encourage the bud to develop into a shoot.