Generally
Looking back to last years blog we had 28 degress and cracks in my lawn that I could put my hand into……………………. well what a difference this year! The wettest April for over 200 years and we are in a drought!
In the Flower Garden
- Plant out container-grown roses and shrubs
- Fork compost into flower beds to prepare soil for summer bedding but only if you can get onto the soild without making it into a mud bath!
- Tie in new growth on climbing plants, such as clematis, wisteria and honeysuckle, to supports
- Pick off faded flowers from camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons, taking care not to damage developing new leaves
- Sow seeds of fast-growing hardy annuals, such as escholzia or poached-egg plant, to fill gaps
In the Fruit and Vegetable Garden
- Sow seeds of beans, marrows, courgettes and squashes, two per pot, and thin out the weakest seedling to leave the strongest plant
- Spray peaches and nectarines with fungicide to prevent an attack of peach leaf curl
- Pick rhubarb stems as they develop, and water clumps with a generous helping of liquid feed
- Prepare to cover fruit tree blossom with horticultural fleece to protect flowers if frost is forecast
- Sow seeds of the following crops outside this week: beetroot, lettuce, salad leaves, watercress and rocket
In the Greenhouse
- Fit automatic openers to greenhouse vents to encourage good air circulation
- Plant tomatoes in growing bags or large pots, training them on to canes or wires for support
- Bring pots of strawberries into the greenhouse to produce early flowers and fruit
- Sow cyclamen and schizanthus for indoor flowers
- Buy scented-leaf pelargoniums, such as ‘Chocolate Peppermint’ and ‘Lady Plymouth’
- Plant pots with heat-treated freesia corms to produce fragrant flowers this summer
- Watch out for pests, checking under leaves and on shoot tips for signs of whitefly or red spider mite. Treat immediately, or introduce biological pest controls
Berberi darwinii
Berberis darwinii in full flower in late April
