|
MID SPRING (April)
April is a busy time in the garden, with much to do and little time available. Wet weekends can cause considerable hold-ups in the general work. A dry month can be helpful, but extra care must be taken to see that the young plants do not run short of soil moisture.
- Stake taller herbaceous perennials in the early stages
- Dead-head and feed bulbs after flowering, and remove unsightly foliage as it dies back.
- Begin the regular routine of lawn mowing and trimming the edges
- Overseed worn, patchy areas of grass, level out any lumps or hollows, and repair worn edges, now or in autumn
- Prepare the ground for turfing and/or sowing if required
- Create new lawns from turf or sow seed now or later in mid-autumn
- Shade young seedlings and newly potted plants and give extra ventilation on sunny
- Plant tomatoes in a cool greenhouse
- Move half-hardy plants into a cold frame to harden-off.
- Pot on begonias and gloxinias into 5 in. pots.
- Sow melons and cucumbers in a temperature of 16-18°C (61-64°F), and sweet corn at 10°C (50°F).
- Plant cucumbers on mounds in a mixture of manure and soil.
- Increase water supply to hippeastrums.
- Watch out for pests such as greenfly, thrips and red spider mites
- Water plants in frames regularly.
- Begin regular hedge trimming
- Renovate overgrown evergreen hedges now, deciduous hedges in late winter
- Prune evergreen shrubs and conifers to shape them up
- Feed all container-grown trees and shrubs, re-pot and top-dress if necessary and top-dress mature plants.
Flower Garden
We are busy in the borders where herbaceous perennials need staking to keep tall flower stems constrained, or provide support for heavy-headed flowers such as peonies and oriental poppies (Papaver orientale), which would otherwise droop and lose their effect. This also keeps plants with a floppy habit tidy and stops them from encroaching on their neighbours or over the lawn. It is important to remember that any staking should be discreet the stakes should not intrude into the overall display. Supports will be obvious in the early stages but by summer they will have disappeared under a sea of foliage and flowers. This extra work is well worth the effort for maximum enjoyment of some of the most interesting summer flowers.
TIPS
- If you have an exposed garden, consider creating a windbreak to reduce the amount of staking for plants.
- Staking with canes helps to keep tall flower stems sturdy and upright
- A ring stake is an ideal way to display heavy-headed flowers
- Link stakes can protect lawn edges from being shaded out by floppy plants
- When you stake a single-stemmed plant, use a cane the size equal to the eventual height of the plant, which is tall enough to support the plant fully.
- Woody pruned stems (birch twigs) can be used to support bushy plants, pushed in among the young foliage.
- A circle of canes, linked together at the top with twine, makes an effective substitute for metal link stakes.
Lawns
Our lawn is an extremely important garden feature this green oasis highlights the colour, form and texture of surrounding plantings and provides a practical space. A scruffy lawn can destroy the whole appearance of the whole garden, but once it is neatly mown and edged, a transformation takes place bringing everything into clearer, sharper focus. Regular mowing also encourages the grass to thicken up, smothering troublesome weeds and reducing the risk of diseases.
TIPS
- A regularly mown lawn provides the perfect setting for colourful beds and borders.
- Regular mowing creates a dense, even sward that smothers weeds and moss, it discourages the growth of coarse grasses and allows the finer grasses to flourish
- Save time by choosing the right mower. A hover mower, for instance, copes well on an uneven surface, whilst the greater cutting width of large powered mowers makes quick work of more expansive lawns.
- If edging the lawn is taking too much time, consider installing a ‘mowing strip’ an edging of brick or paving set flush with the grass. The mower is simply run onto the paved strip to remove side grass.
- Worm casts can be a nuisance but worms are invaluable, aerating the soil to create better drainage and good growing conditions.
- A neatly mown lawn keeps the whole garden looking good
Greenhouses and Frames
The greenhouse is the nucleus and production centre in our garden and maintaining sufficient temperatures is less difficult now.
During sunny spells it is essential to shade young seedlings and newly potted plants, and keep the house well ventilated. We keep a close eye on newly potted plants and increase their watering whilst continuing to feed established plants. Later in the month as the temperatures rise we will be moving the half-hardy annuals and summer bedding plants into a cold frame to harden-off.
In the cool greenhouse we are planting young tomatoes in the soil bed we prepared last month. As the tomatoes grow we support the plants with canes removing all side shoots from leaf axils and to help the flowers to set fruit we spray them lightly around mid-day in sunny weather, or brush or shake the flowers in dull weather. We are also sowing tomato seeds then the young plants will be potted up into 3” pots and later we will plant these outdoors.
TIPS
- Plants for free -Take cuttings. You can take cuttings of many greenhouse-plants during this month they should root readily with a little warmth, and have the whole summer in which to make more substantial plants.
- Always leave a can of water in the greenhouse to warm up before watering plants.
- When re-potting a plant use a pot size only a little larger than the original one
Using water retentive crystals and slow release fertilizers in your compost mix can reduce the watering tasks
|
