April is here and spring is in the air! As the garden starts to wake up after a long winter, it’s time to get outdoors and get ready for another great year of growing. Here are our top 15 gardening tips for April.
1. Get your vegetable beds ready for another season of planting by clearing them of weeds and mulching with well-rotted farmyard manure or garden compost. This will improve drainage in wet weather and help soils retain moisture in droughts.
2. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertiliser. Roses in particular will appreciate a dose of fertiliser as they come back into new growth.
3. Put in supports for tall perennials that tend to flop, such as asters, delphiniums and sanguisorba. This is easier to do now while the plants are still small and there is space to move around them.
4. Lift and divide ornamental grasses like miscanthus, as well as summer-flowering perennials such as daylilies and hostas.
5. Give lavender a light trim, taking care not to cut back into old wood.
6. If you’re growing fuchsias from cuttings or sweet peas from seed, pinch out the growing tips of the seedlings to give you bushy plants that will produce masses of flowers.
7. Sow tomato seeds this month in the greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. April is also a good time to sow pepper seeds in small pots indoors.
8. Direct sow hardy annuals like allysum and poppies for great summer colour. You can also sow sweet pea seeds directly outdoors in late April.
9. Plant your onions out into the garden - bulbs or seeds.
10. Harvest the first asparagus shoots – they’re delicious steamed and served with butter!
We have everything you need in centre to get your garden into great shape for the year, so come in and see what’s in store!
