The Garden in April
01 April 2021 by Pennells Garden Centre
April sees the garden coming alive, with Daffodils in flower and blossom in the trees. The weather will bring plenty of showers but the number of sunny days will be increasing, and the temperature should be rising.
April is a great time to get out into the garden – the clocks have changed giving us longer in the evenings to work in and enjoy the garden.
Your grass will be starting to grow and you will need to cut it at least every couple of weeks and perhaps more frequently if the weather is warm. If you have a lot of moss now’s the time to treat the lawn with a combined fertiliser and moss killer. It’s also a good time to sow new lawns and to repair old ones. There are a range of grass seed types available depending on the use the lawn is going to get. Ask at your local garden centre for advice on the best products.
As the early spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils start to go over don’t be in a hurry to take the foliage off the bulbs – leave them for at least six weeks so that the bulbs can store sufficient food to take them through into next year.
Hardy perennials will be starting to grow and it’s a very good time to lift and divide large clumps. Using a spade simply dig up the whole of the clump and then using the spade carefully divide the clump. You should get several new plants that you can replant in the border.
Watch out for weeds appearing – it’s a good idea to ensure that the garden is as weed free as you can in April, otherwise you will have problems later in the year.
If you fancy the idea of picking your own fruit but haven’t grown any before then growing strawberries is a good place to start. We sell plants in pots at this time of year. These can be planted out in the garden or grown in a Fruit and Vegetable planter.
Other things to do in the garden in April
• Sow greenhouse crops such as tomatoes.
• Sow frost-tender vegetables, such as courgettes, runner beans and French beans on warm windowsills.
• Plant asparagus, second early and maincrop potatoes.
• Sow outdoor vegetables including swiss chard, broccoli and cabbage.
• Sow cottage garden favourite biennials foxgloves, hollyhocks as well as annuals.
• Leave spring bulbs for at least 6 weeks after flowering before removing foliage.
• Feed spring bulbs with Nutri All Purpose Plant Food to encourage greater blooms next year.
• Tie in new shoots of climbers.
• Trees and shrubs will benefit from an early spring feed to support strong and healthy growth.
• Apply mulch around the base of trees after heavy rainfall try Bed & Border Chipped Bark.
• Sow or turf new lawns.
• Recut the lawn edges with a half moon edging iron.
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