How does your garden grow?

The answer is probably satisfactorily but for all you budding gardeners looking for a bit of extra inspiration, then Charlie Dimmock can provide the lead.

This is the time of year when it all happens. A cold dry winter will have had an effect on the countryside and gardens.

You bet the winter's dry,' says Charlie.

My local farmer put a hedge in over the winter and has had to water it to get it established - which is unheard of at that time of the year.' I think we should make more use of Grey water. as the reservoirs are so low. ’úGrey water is stuff from the house, bath water and washing up water. Providing there are not too many detergents in the water it will befine. When you think how much water is flushed away or goes down the plug hole you realise how wasteful that we are.'

It should be recycled and reused. It won't harm the garden, in fact it will probably do it a lot of good.'

So as spring slowly edges in, gardeners up and down the country are getting ready to set forth, on to their patch and out to the garden centre. The spring bank holidays provide plenty of time for ruminating on what could be in the garden.

You need a good pair of secateurs (small pruning shears). Don't opt for the cheapest pair because they won't do the job nor will they last. Your secateurs should be your first purchase. Then, you should move on to build up a functioning gardening tool kit.

Include a decent a fork,' says Charlie. You need good prongs and a decent shaft and handle. A border fork with shorter prongs will do the job just fine. You should also invest in a good spade, too.

Make sure that the weight of your tools is manageable,' advises Charlie. I remember during the making of an episode of Ground Force, Tommy Walsh had some forks and spades that weighed a ton, I'm sure he found them but you would have to be a man mountain like Tommy to be able to use them.

It doesn't matter whether you go for plastic coated metal handles or wood. It is what suits you. However, I would recommend that you don't go for the cheapest option.'

So, as life returns to the garden, your thoughts may turn to what you'll want to plant and see grow, as well as what needs controlling and containing. If you haven't got one, you'll need a lawn mower,' adds Charlie.

Lastly you'll need gloves. They protect against all sorts and are very handy when you are cutting back brambles. And the good news, is that you get a free pair with this magazine!' So now that you're all tooled up, what about the practicalities? Charlie is clear about what has to be done. Problems occur when we get one fine day, people go mad,' she explains. They rush out into the garden like a whirlwind.

Then it's off to the garden centre where they buy all sorts in a flurry of misplaced enthusiasm. What you have to do is think first, and act second.

It's important to plan your garden from the outset. Consider your options and decide what you want to do and what you need before you go off spending your money. Yes, of course you can get inspiration in the garden centre but it still has to fit into your plans.

One of the most common mistakes is that people don't read labels on plants. They like the look of a plant and they buy it without considering whether their garden is the right environment for it.

Some plants grow great in the shade, others need plenty of light, some like dry conditions, others require lots of water.' After the months of relative inactivity another temptation is to go too hard at sprucing the garden up. Lawns do grow over the winter period, especially if it's been a mild winter. The temptation is to set the mower to a low shave cut, and that's not a good idea,' adds Charlie.

If you scalp the grass it will turn yellow then white and you will end up with dead patches and apart from looking horrid it allows weed seedlimgs to get in to the lawn. What you need to do is gradually lower the cut over a period of a month or so.' Another lawn problem is moss and this is normally a sign of poor drainage quite often due to compaction, the lawn will need to be spiked so the water runs away.

Leading on from that I would also advise you don't go overboard with the weed killers and fertilisers. Again, and it is becoming a bit of a mantra, you must read the labels. It is amazing how many people think that if they up their dosages of weed killer it'll be far more effective.

This is not always the case because the tops of the weeds get burned off and the chemical doesn't penetrate to the roots of the weed. The same applies to weed and feed preparations, sue them when the lawn is dry and they will cause damage because the need moisture to work.'

And so with these words of advice ringing in our ears we can get ready to venture forth into the garden, and take a break and dream by visiting the garden centre.

Garden centres offer a fascinating world of constant invention. The strimmer is a very popular apparatus, the nylon string doesn't cause any damage but you need to be careful around trees. Keep cutting away at the same place and you will eventually cut the bark and hurt the tree.'

So, there you have it. Charlie's advice opens up the incredible possibilities for you and your garden this year.

But how did she get to the position she is in today? It really came about from my Saturday job at a garden centre which specialised in ponds and water features. I developed a passion from that initial interest and went on to do a general course at college,' she says. The rest has followed on from there, and it's been fantastic.'