When they come into bloom they bring us cheer and now they are over we can say that summer is, or should be, approaching.
We still need to have a care for next year's display.
All too easily we could cut off the leaves and tidy them up to make way for the next seasonal display.

Wait a while – those leaves are providing food for the bulb below to form the basis of next year's display.
Even the practice of knotting foliage for the sake of tidiness is to be frowned on. What they need is surface area exposed to the sun and plenty of nutrients available.

Liquid fertiliser such as Levington Tomorite will act quickly if you have not yet applied anything.
We need to let the plants die down naturally for the best display next year. If it comes a bit hard having untidy plants around then suffer it for now if you will, lift the bulbs in the autumn and plant them up in mesh pond planting baskets.

They can then be moved to a quieter part of the garden this time next year to continue their bulking up for the following season, then brought back at display time, perhaps taking the place of another basket full perhaps of winter pansies.
In any case we should remove the heads of the flowers once they are over. This stops them from putting energy into making seed and makes more available for sustaining the bulb.

Once early flowering shrubs have strutted their stuff you should give them your sternest look, and go at them with a tough attitude.
Plants such as forsythia will thank you for being tough. Cut them hard back. Too often they are pruned lightly.

The result is that most growth comes from just below the cut and if this is done high up on a branch then this summer's growth will cause the branch to fall over and be top heavy.
Prune this one hard and it will respond this summer with lots of young growth that will be a mass of flowers next year.

Cornus, or dogwood as it is commonly known, is another example where a hard heart is appreciated later. Coloured stems in winter are the main feature of this plant and if left, this colour disappears with age. So again the more young growth you can promote by hard pruning the better.
There are lots of plants arriving in garden centres at the moment.
With the groundswell of new gardeners heading for the benches, bear in mind that although many plants are on sale they need special attention at the moment while night temperatures are low.

Protect plants from the cold
Growing your own food is becoming more and more popular.
For those new to the pastime, be warned – plants such as tomatoes, pictured, will not stand cold nights. The foliage turns a bluey green and they never really recover.

Make sure you have the right conditions for these plants before you buy, such as in a greenhouse.
Cucumbers are even worse, particularly the all-female flowered types which need at least a constant 15 degrees centigrade and more if possible.