The Flower Garden
- Plant out perennials in groups of three, five or seven for maximum effect
- Sprinkle fertiliser around clumps of tulips to boost flowering, or use a foliar feed
- Sow hardy annual flowers directly into beds where you’d like them to bloom
- Prune Himalayan honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa)
- Pick off dead flower heads from spring bulbs
- Protect emerging shoots of delphiniums and lupins from slugs and snails using a barrier such as copper tape for pots, copper rings or garlic granules
The Fruit and Vegetable Garden
- Sow sweetcorn in deep modular seed trays under cover to plant out in early June
- Feed fruit trees and bushes
- Plant out onion sets grown in pots under glass
- Order vegetable plug plants from mail-order suppliers
- Warm soil with cloches or sheets of polythene for early sowings
- Plant out maincrop potatoes
- Plant asparagus crowns
- Sow the following crops this week if conditions are suitable: beetroot, parsnips, turnips, onions, peas and mangetout, broad beans, lettuce and salad leaves, spinach, radish, rocket, mizuna, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts
In The Greenhouse
- Buy plug plants and young bedding plants to grow on for baskets, pots and bedding displays
- Thin out heavy fruit sets on peaches and nectarines, leaving fruits about 10cm apart
- Sow annual climbers, such as cup-and-saucer vine (Cobaea), nasturtium, Rhodochiton and morning glory (Ipomoea)
- Grow an early crop of dwarf French beans in a large pot
- Repot any top-heavy or pot-bound houseplants
- Start feeding young plants about 3-4 weeks after potting up in fresh compost
- Pot up rooted cuttings and seedlings
Around The Garden
- Remove winter grime from patios and terraces with a pressure washer
- Sow new lawns, choosing a grass mix that suits the type of lawn you want
- Snip plain green shoots off variegated shrubs
- Mow lawns on dry days if grass is growing strongly
- Dig out couch grass, ground elder, bindweed and other problem weeds
- Place plant supports over clumps of tall-growing perennials such as lupins and delphiniums
