It's a jungle out there: How to tame your overgrown garden in time for summer

It doesn't matter whether your garden is 20 acres or patio-sized, there comes a point in early May when everything starts to grow a little bit too fast. For me, panic sets in. It feels as if summer is almost here, and my garden is running out of control. It takes a few years of gardening to realise that this anxious feeling is completely normal; only really organised gardeners have everything smoothly in hand at this point.

The illusion of the perfect garden is one that's doled out to us by TV programmes in the run-up to the Chelsea Flower Show, as well as every time we visit a plot featured in The Yellow Book – the annual bible for garden snooping in England and Wales. But the reality is that early summer comes to normal people's gardens when there won't have been enough sunny weekend days to get through all the jobs that need doing; meanwhile, the plants have grown gigantic with all those April showers.

The good news is that there's still time to turn your garden into the perfect sanctuary before your first barbecue. My first tip? Don't begin your weekend at the garden centre. Buying a load of new plants which you won't have space to plant isn't going to make you feel better in the long run. Instead, start in the garden.

First, chop back anything that will get in the way of you using your garden in the summer. No, it's not an ideal pruning time, but back in the real world it's important to be able to get out there. So take back overgrown buddleias, leggy rosemarys and self-aggrandising viburnums. Most shrubs recover quickly from a pruning now, as they are in full growing flow. (Just avoid cutting plants you expect to flower.)

Now, for instant smartness, sweep up all the leaves and prunings, scrape the moss off the concrete, wash off the garden furniture and replace the top layer of soil in hanging baskets and patio pots.

One of the best ways to cheer up a garden in early spring is to sort out the muddy patch that was your lawn. Feeding a lawn will make sure it gets through the summer. And while you're at it, feed everything; preferably with some slow-release granules, blood, fish and bone fertiliser or manure, which will keep nourishing plants over time.

Most importantly, don't set yourself huge tasks – rebuilding flower beds, putting in fences or digging out tree roots – unless you really have time. There is too much potential to ruin your summer: make your garden a place to get away from it all, not another task on the to-do list.

Finally, use the power of distraction. Imagine you are hosting a barbecue next weekend: use your best pots to take the eye away from messy corners, and chuck away all that rubbish stored down the side of the house. And now make sure you spend the summer enjoying your garden, instead of seeing it as a chore.

A rake's progress: Take the lawn into your own hands

Rake: This will get rid of moss and last year's dead growth. It's been a damp winter, so you may even need to buy a moss killer such as Phostrogen. But don't splash it about: the iron sulphate will stain garden furniture permanently

Fork: This is particularly needed where you've walked a lot. Push the fork in then pull it straight out again, making new aeration holes. Space them a foot apart

Feed: Use a feed specific to spring; nitrogen will encourage lush growth

Mow: Start by giving your lawn a trim, then slowly alter the cut length on your lawnmower over time. You need to ease a lawn into being mowed; you can give it a GI buzzcut in June when it's in full growth