Garden Jobs

Garden Jobs for April

with Pete Harcom - Head Gardener at Sherton Abbas Gardening

Hello All,

Let’s not call it ‘Jobs’ for April... this time of year is the best! Things really get going in the garden in April; the days are getting longer and temperatures rise, flowering trees are starting to bloom. There is lots to do, including sowing, planting and weeding.

If you’re thinking about even a small wildlife patch in your garden, there are easy ways to start. Media gardener Monty Don has recently said cutting grass “...is about the most injurious thing you can do to wildlife... letting grass grow which is, after all, a pretty passive thing to do, is probably the single most effective thing you can do in any garden of any size to encourage particularly insect life, but also small mammals, invertebrates, reptiles.”

There will be April showers, but with sunny days too, it’s an exciting month!

• Indoor-sown seeds will be well into growth, and it’s also time to start sowing outdoors. Even if the days are warm, watch out for frosts at night - resist the temptation to sow and plant out too early. Keep an eye on the weather forecast and wait a few days if necessary. Protect early outdoor sowings with fleece.

• The growing lawn will need attention.

• The pruning of roses should be finished now - check that branches of climbing and rambling roses are tied in.

• Prune Hydrangeas - cut back the old stems to a healthy bud lower down. • Divide and re-plant herbaceous perennials such as Hostas and

Delphiniums.

• Sow sweet peas at the base of supports, and transplant those sown in autumn into their final positions

• Wildflowers - why not create a wildflower meadow? Even in a small garden this will attract our native insects and animals. Native wildflowers are a food source, which will attract bees, butterflies and birds to your garden. The Wildlife Trust have good instructions here.

• Put garden mulch in your borders. The depth of mulch should be 3 inches if possible. Use leaf-mould, or municipal green waste compost - this will suppress weeds and help retain moisture levels right throughout the summer months. Hoe weeds, before they can set seed. Watch out for problem weeds such as Brambles and Nettles. • Aphids will be active this month.

Continue to wipe off and

squash wherever and whenever possible. Check all containers for pupating vine weevils, especially fuchsias in pots. Squash any that you find. • Pinch out the shoot tips of fuchsias to develop bushier plants

Feed houseplants from now

until autumn. Large leafy plants will need a high nitrogen feed, while flowering plants need something like a tomato feed, high in potash.

Transplant tomato plants into growing bags and tie in supports.

Sow quick-growing micro-

greens, such as kale and mustard, for nutrient-rich salads in just a few weeks.