Colour your life in April

As the sun strengthens and more and more plants are flowering, it’s delightful to watch the garden coming back to life. Its now that you start to see the fruits of your earlier efforts. 

April is a good time for a garden and patio spring-clean. Remove old plants from the borders or pots, clean your patio, remove algae from the slabs and get your pots ready for a new planting season. Plus all that work in the garden helps you keep fit – who needs to pay a gym subscription! Roll on summer!

Pond life

As the pond comes back to life here are some things to think about:

• Turn the pump back on and examine your pond.
• Which plants need pruning?
• Which plants might you want to add?
• Also think about feeding: there are special water plant food pellets which help the plants thrive.
• If you do not have a pond in your garden yet, and you’ve got space, then now is the time to build one!

 

Walking amongst fruit trees

Spring weather and spring walks – definitely the time to go beyond the garden gate and visit your local gardens open to the public.  Seasonal shows of spring bulbs and fabulous blossoming trees are food for the body and mind.  So find out where your local National Trust property or park or open gardens are and enjoy!  

 

Prune now

Grass

You can now mow the lawn every week. Mow an ornamental lawn to two centimetres and a play lawn to three centimetres. 
If your lawn is not enclosed by hard surfaces, the edges will grow irregularly. Restore the shape by edging the lawn neatly again.

Cutting and pruning

The more often you prune, the more the plants branch. 
Give special buxus fertiliser with magnesium and trace elements immediately.

This is your last chance to prune the roses. It should really have been done in March.
Also prune your false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Umbraculifera’) or Indian bean tree (Catalpa bignonioides ‘Nana’).

Tidy pond plants

• Remove all dead plant residues.
• Divide pond plants and get rampant varieties back under control.
• Plant new plants in baskets with fresh pond soil.
• Give the plants special water plant fertiliser granules by the roots in the soil. 

 

Plant now
Shrubs

Evergreen shrubs are replanted later than the deciduous varieties because many evergreens are not fully winter-hardy. This is less important if they are pot-grown, but many evergreens are also sold ‘with rootball in sacking’. Shrubs which do not flower until after the longest day (21 June) can be pruned now. This includes varieties such as Buddleia davidii, Ceanothus and Hypericum. Shrubs which flower from buds which formed during the previous season should only be pruned when they have finished flowering.

Perennials

Perennials may have pushed themselves up above the soil on their roots. They are standing on ‘islands’. Replant them to the right depth. Remove all dead and withered plant residue from your plants. All the waste can go in the compost bin.

Plant and sow

Birches are famous for being difficult to (re)plant. This is the best time to do it. You can now sow plenty of kitchen herbs (as well as vegetables like carrots).

 

Maintenance
Night frost

Beware of night frost! Protect plants which are sensitive and possibly already flowering with garden fleece if a night frost is forecast.

Support for perennials

It’s best to put in supports now for perennials which will grow tall. 

Sort out plant troughs

Lots of annuals are available to buy – although its best to wait until the days are warmer and longer as this is when they will start growing well.  In the meantime, now is a good time to get the pots and troughs ready for planting (rinse, ensure good drainage, put fresh potting soil in them).

Spring-clean

If you have not done so yet, now is certainly the time to clean the garden, the patio and the garden furniture.

It is still an excellent time for sowing a new lawn or restoring a lawn. Now is also ideal to aerate. The grass will recover very quickly. Rake the gravel thoroughly to stop the first weed growth.

Tiles with algae

Flagstones and all sorts of other stepping stones and tiles can become green and slippery during the winter. Turn them over now to get rid of the problem. The green underside will then automatically be cleaned by creatures in the soil, so that you can repeat this trick every year.

Pond

Turn on the pump in the pond and start the pond filter.