In Your Garden

APRIL

Well, it’s now time to take our foot off the brake and dive headlong into sowing and planting. Although the days may feel balmier, do watch out for late frosts, they can ruin gardening plans, so keep cloches and fleece close - to protect young plants and newly sown seeds.

Spring pansies and violas will be keen to set seed, so remove dead flowers to encourage new displays.

Winter primroses will now be past their past, but by lifting and dividing you can increase plant stock for next season. Whether it’s with your hands or a trowel, prise the plants apart. Don’t worry about damaging them as they’re quite tough. Re-plant where you’d like to see them appear next year.

Before daffodils go to seed, deadhead them and cut down once the leaves have died down naturally. This will transfer the energy back into the bulb in readiness for next year’s display.

Young plants need all the nutrients they can get, so don’t let them be bullied by emerging weeds. Remove all weeds from beds, making sure you pull them out by the roots. Mulch wherever you can!

As climbing roses, clematis and honeysuckle start to flourish, tie in the new growth. There’s still potential for a late frost and high winds, so secure them safely and you’ll be rewarded with a display of stunning blooms later in the season.

Growing perennials will be swaying under their new growth, so stake them now to prevent damage. Do it sooner rather than later, as the root ball is keen to grow and you run the risk of damaging it if you leave it too late in the season.

The warmer weather will encourage slugs and snails, who will be eager to devour fresh foliage. Take a walk about the garden early in the morning, at dusk or after a rainfall, when numbers are high. Pick them off and remove from site. Other pests to be aware of and remove if found are vine weevil and the red lily beetle.

For planting bulbs straight into beds- the rule of thumb is to plant the bulb at a depth of three times its height. If your soil is heavy, add grit to the base of the hole and then fill with a gritted-compost mixture to help drainage and prevent the bulb from rotting.

Divide herbaceous perennials eg hostas, day lilies and phlox. This not only gives you free plants but helps to reinvigorate old clumps too.

April is the time to prune lavender, sage and rosemary. Remove any dead and diseased foliage, but avoid cutting into the woody parts of the plant.

Prune shrubs after flowering, eg forsythia, to two or three buds from their base. With older shrubs cut out a third.

Sow vegetable seeds. Do this in weekly intervals to keep crops coming without a glut. Salads, radishes, chard, khôl rabi, carrots and beetroot can all now be sown. Remember to sow little and often, otherwise in a few months’ time you could end up with a glut.

Plant potatoes now

Feed garden birds. They will need extra this month for fledglings

Sow wildflowers seeds….. if you have the space.