Gardening Jobs for April

"I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose, I would always greet it in a garden."  - Ruth Stout 

With April just around the corner, we are now truly into Spring. I think April is the most exciting month in the gardening year, the gardens suddenly begin to look vibrant, and the longer days and warmer weather gladden the hearts of many.

April showers interspersed with warm and cold snaps mark the month, the nights can still be a little nippy so remember to have a garden fleece standing by to cover tender new plants.

All borders will appreciate a dressing of fish, blood and bone, dug gently into the surface then allow the rain to carry them down to the plant roots. Take care not to damage emerging shoots, or to burn them with fertiliser.

Deadhead daffodils and tulips as the flowers finish, but leave foliage intact, allowing it to die back naturally.

If dry enough mow lawns regularly, if the grass is left to grow long and then cut short it will turn yellow and be weakened. Mower blades should be at their highest setting when you start mowing in the spring and then gradually lower them one setting per cut.

Set aside a morning or afternoon to go around your garden, doing those small jobs that makes all the difference to its appearance. Lightly forking over the soil, pulling out any weeds. Putting in plant supports in.

For masses of easy colour, sow Californian poppy seeds, pot marigolds, love-in-a-mist and other hardy annuals in a sunny border and they will flower from June and through to middle autumn.

Sow or plant annual grasses, their delicate foliage and attractive seed heads contrast well with broad leaf plants and shrubs.

Now is an ideal time to move evergreen shrubs that may be growing in the wrong place. If possible, trim back around 50% of the top growth and water the soil around the plant the day before.

Plant up hanging baskets in April if you have space under cover to shelter them for a few more weeks.

Sweet pea seeds can be sown outside this month depending on the daytime temperatures, probably better from mid-April onwards.

If you have them plant out autumn-sown sweet peas that have been raised in pots, and prepare your wigwam supports for them to climb, using a light twine to tie the plants in. Garden centres will now be selling small containers of sweet peas ready to plant out when the weather is warm.

Plant summer-flowering bulbs, if not done already. Prepare the soil first, with horticultural grit or similar, to ensure that drainage is sufficient to prevent the bulbs rotting. Anemone tubers, for instance, need particularly well-drained soils,

Put supports in place for perennials before they get too large. Criss-crossing strings from hidden or decorative posts work well, allowing stems to grow up in the gaps between strings.

If you have not done so already April is now the time to remove tired winter bedding and plants that did not survive the winter.

Check that self-seeded forget-me-nots aren’t smothering other border plants. Pull out plants as necessary.

Hoe borders to suppress weeds but dig perennial weeds right out, if you defeat them in April and May, some will give up, and you can take it easier in June.

Herbaceous perennials infested with couch grass and other perennial weeds should be lifted so the roots of the weeds can be removed and replanted (weed-free)

Pots and tubs benefit from topping up with fresh compost. Old compost can be removed and replaced with new.

Sow hardy annuals, herbs, and wildflower seed outdoors

Protect the new shoots of hostas, delphiniums, lupins and other vulnerable plants from slugs and snails

Check rose bushes for any dead wood or broken stems, which should be removed. Rose pruning ensures that plants grow vigorously and flower each year.   Tie in climbing and rambling roses.

Roses are hungry plants and should be fed twice a year, in March/ April and again after the first flush of flowers has died back.  I use Top Rose, rose fertilizer.

Check roses for any signs of early Black Spot and spray as necessary.

Continue deadheading spring bulbs and bedding plants, so they don't waste energy setting seed

Prune hydrangeas, cutting back the old stems to a healthy shoot lower down

Sow sunflowers in a sunny, open site, then water regularly and protect seedlings from slugs and snails

Pinch out the tips of broad beans if they're covered in aphids, or spray shoots with soap-based solution

Sow outdoor varieties of tomatoes, chillies, and courgettes in pots, so they're ready to plant out in late May or June

Sow small batches of rocket and other easy salad leaves

Put a bag of barley straw in ponds to discourage algae and keep the water clear all summer

Cut back tatty old fern fronds to make way for new ones that are starting to unfurl

Cut away unwanted suckers growing around the base of trees and shrubs

Check your patio plants aren't drying out. The warmer weather will quickly affect soil moisture levels - try mixing water storing granules with compost to improve water retention in containers.

Pinch out the tips of fuchsia plants and sweet pea plant shoots, to encourage bushy growth this summer.

Feed trees, shrubs, and hedges with a balanced, slow-release fertiliser, by lightly forking it into the soil surface.

Prune penstemons now, cut back all the old shoots to the base, provided there is new growth at the bottom of the plant. If there are no new shoots at the base, cut just above the lowest set of leaves.

Finish cutting back any dead foliage on perennials and ornamental grass plants (if you haven't done so already), to make way for new growth.

Prune Forsythia bushes as soon as they have finished flowering, cutting back to strong, young shoots.

Tie in new honeysuckle and clematis stems. These plants will be putting on growth now, and you’ll need to train them along their supports.

Improve the drainage of heavy soils by incorporating plenty of organic matter and horticultural grit.

Top up raised beds with compost and good quality topsoil.

Apply weed killer to perennial weeds in paving and patios

Top up bird baths and bird feeding stations to encourage birds into your garden.

As always, I wish you happy gardening

Rog

The writer, Rog Leppard, is a professional gardener with his own gardening business, English Cottage Chic Gardening and also a gardening writer, based in The Frenches, East Wellow, Hampshire.

Website: www.english-cottage-chic.co.uk