April gardening guide
April sees the garden come alive with colour. Flowering trees are starting to bloom, early Tulips are making an appearance and shrubs are stirring into life with lush green, red and tawny brown leaves. Downpours and lovely sunny days will kick start lawn (and weed) growth, making April a busy time for maintenance in the garden. While spring truly has sprung, be careful not to get caught out by late frosts.
Checklist
- Feed and mulch beds and borders
- Protect young shoots from slugs and snails
- Tie in climbing and rambling roses before they grow away
- Protect fruit blossom from late frosts
- Keep on top of burgeoning weeds
- Start watering houseplants more often
- Repair bare patches in your lawn
- Plant out strawberry beds
- Re-pot any plants that are outgrowing their containers
- Start feeding any citrus plants
Planting
- Sow peas, mangeytut and salad crops – including leaves, herbs, lettuce and spring onions
- Sow leeks in a nursery bed (short row) ready to transplant later in the summer
- Sow sweet peas in the ground where they are to flower, remembering to soak seeds in water overnight for faster germination
- Plant summer flowering bulbs, tubers and corms such as dahlias and gladiolus towards the end of the month
- Plant up hanging baskets and containers with summer flowering bedding plants, but beware of frost into May
Maintenance
- If it’s well-rotted, empty your compost heap and use finished compost to mulch your borders
- Start gathering sticks to help support your vegetable crops as they grow
- Rake out any moss and dead grass from your lawn, then aerate to improve drainage
- Spot treat weeds in your lawn with a selective weed killer that will not kill your grass
Top Tips
Ensure your greenhouse is well ventilated to prevent pests and diseases setting up home in warming temperatures.
Pruning
- Remove dead flowers from winter-flowering heathers as they finish flowering by lightly trimming them, taking care not to cut into old wood
- Prune evergreen shrubs now to encourage new, bushy growth
- Prune woody growth that has just flowered from winter jasmine and tie in strong new growths to the supports
Wildlife and pests
- If you can, leave a patch of stinging nettles in your garden for butterflies
- Sow seeds of Honesty, an important nectar plant for many early insects
- Look out for hedgehogs coming out of hibernation who will make light work of any slugs
- Summer visitors including warblers and the cuckoo are arriving now, listen carefully for its distinctive call
Harvesting
- Pick sprouting broccoli regularly to encourage more tasty side shoots
- Harvest asparagus spears when they are no more than 18cm tall
