Gardening Chores - April

April:

April is an exciting month of significant growth thanks to April showers and the ground warming, but keep in mind late frosts. Now is the ideal time to plant new shrubs, perennials and summer bedding. Sow a variety of seeds outdoors and focus on weeding and mulching to prepare your garden for the season ahead.

In the Flower Garden

Sow hardy annuals and herb seeds directly into your borders or containers.
Deadhead daffodils and pansies as they fade to encourage them to put their energy into healthy growth for next year.
Divide Hostas as they emerge. This is a great way to create new plants and prevent overcrowding.
Now is the perfect time to plant dahlia tubers and get a head start on your sweet peas. You can also plant out biennials for a summer display.
Tie back climbing plants such as large-flowering Clematis and roses to give them support as they grow.
Feed your shrubs and roses with a balanced fertiliser to encourage strong growth and a flush of blooms.
Divide bamboos to create new plants and control their spread.

The Vegetable Plot & Orchard

April is the traditional time to plant your potatoes Dig a trench, add some compost, and plant them now for a bountiful harvest.
You can now sow a huge range of vegetables directly into your prepared beds, including beetroot, peas, broad beans, broccoli, kale, chard, kohlrabi, leeks, spinach, and rocket
Hoe around your plants regularly to suppress weed growth.
Sow sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower now to ensure a winter harvest.

Fruit Garden

Protect fruit blossom on top fruit trees like apricots and peaches from any late frosts.
Plant out your strawberry plants.
Start feeding citrus plants to help them produce fruit.
Prune your fig trees now.

Lawns & Hedges

Mowing can begin in earnest now, but only on dry days to avoid damaging the lawn.
Apply a high-nitrogen feed to your lawn at the start of the month. You can use a combined fertiliser, weed killer, and moss killer if needed.
Sow a new lawn or patch up any bare patches.
Sow a wildflower meadow to encourage bees and other pollinating insects to visit your garden.

General Garden Maintenance & Planting

Protect new spring shoots from slugs and snails. Start putting down slug pellets or other preventative treatments.
Take control of weeds now before they get out of hand.
Now is the time to start making up hanging baskets for some early summer colour.
Re-pot any plants that have grown too big for their initial pots.
Check your plants to see whether they would benefit from a good watering.
Top dress container pots with fresh compost to give them a nutrient boost.
You can now plant out summer bedding.