In the Garden – April

Spring is now very evident in the garden as the daffodils and primroses provide an abundance of colour. Daylight hours are longer and have become more so with that extra hour from 27 March. (13 March was a similar time change in the USA and Canada for those that noticed the mistake in the March notes)! Regular weeding and deadheading are the watch words for April.

The Weather

On the whole days are warming up but do beware of very cold nights and the occasional sharp frost. Beware of planting out tender plants unprotected. There will doubtless be some strong winds at times but there should be plenty of sunshine. There will, of course, be April showers but the average rainfall should only be about 42-47mm (11/2 ins).

Around The Garden

Protect plants. The warmth of Spring encourages slugs and snails and they can cause considerable damage. If you are not organic spread some slug pellets in and amongst the plants affected. It doesn’t take many to kill off slugs. If you are organic, nematodes are effective. There is, of course, the traditional method of ridding a garden of slugs, namely a beer trap: a jar sunk into the ground with the lip just above ground and filled with beer.

Tidy borders. Set aside some time to do those small jobs around the garden that can make such a difference to appearance. Lightly fork or hoe the beds to take out any weeds. Put in plant supports as you go.

Start mowing regularly. Grass will be growing steadily as the temperature increases and should be cut regularly to keep it in good condition. For the first few cuts set the blades high. Keep the box on in Spring to allow air, rain and fertiliser to penetrate the earth. Consider aerating and then scarifying the lawn to take out the moss and ‘thatch’. This does not need to be done every year. Feed established lawns with fertilisers.

Move and plant evergreen shrubs. This is a good month to relocate your shrubs. When moving shrubs take as large a root ball as possible, protect from cold winds and keep well watered.

Tie in climbers. Climbing and rambling roses should now be tied in, training the shoots as near horizontal as possible.

Keep planting and dividing perennials. Hardy perennials will grow quickly if planted now. Feed, mulch and water them well. Lift and divide overgrown clumps of summer flowering herbaceous perennials. Stake those remaining. Spreading farmyard manure will reap benefits.

Plant Summer bulbs. To produce a succession of flowers, plant summerflowering bulbs, such as dahlias, cannas and gladioli this month.

Continue sowing hardy annuals. It is safe to sow hardy annuals now.

In The Veg Patch

Thin out seedlings. If seedlings are not thinned out, the plants will become straggly and won’t crop well at all.

Keep sowing outside successional crops. Lettuce, endives, radish, salad onions, peas, broad beans, spinach, cabbage, turnips, parsnips and beetroot can continue to be sown.

Earth-up early potatoes. Drawing a little soil up over the emerging potato shoots not only protects them from late frosts but it also