News
Jobs for April
As the days lengthen and the milder temperatures arrive there are lots of jobs you can be doing in the garden this month:
- get on top of the weeds early in the season: hoe annual weeds but make sure that you completely remove perennial weeds as they will regrow from any roots left in the soil
- begin cutting your lawn: give it a weekly trim and edge with shears or a grass trimmer; rake and reseed thin patches and apply lawn feed
- sow hardy annuals in borders
- plant summer bulbs like Hymenocallis, Hemerocallis and Begonia
- divide and replant hardy perennials like hostas, asters and Hemerocallis (day lilies)
- protect fruit blossom from late frosts
- prune hydrangeas by cutting old growth back to a healthy bud
- plant out sweet peas sown last month and tie in to a support (don’t forget to pinch out the tips to encourage strong side shoots), or sow seeds directly into the soil
- check for aphids on roses and rub off any you find
- feed roses, citrus plants and shrubs
- encourage fruiting on self-fertile apricots and peaches by dabbing the blossom with a small paintbrush which will help to pollinate the flowers
- in the vegetable plot plant onions and maincrop potatoes and earth up potatoes when their shoots begin to show through the soil
- be ready to protect tender new growth from late frosts!
Blog post written by Jo Chamberlain
[foogallery id=”115610″]