Supporting the environment, health and wellbeing in UK home gardening

Gardening in April

April is the height of spring and there is a lot to be getting on with in the garden. But be aware of changeable weather and check weather forecasts. Cold nights, frosts and general low temperatures are all possibilities, which can adversely affect young, new growth, bedding and young vegetable plants. And, of course, there’s always the chance of April showers – or even torrential downpours!

Things to do this month

  • Take things steadily – and make time to enjoy your garden. After all, it is meant to be a relaxing hobby!
  • Make the most of any warm days and evenings to enjoy eating outside on the patio.
  • Continue to sow seeds of all your favourite annual bedding plants for a summer of wonderful colour.
  • If you don’t have much success with seeds, buy plug plants and seedlings for growing on.
  • Continue to take stem cuttings of half-hardy perennials and patio plants, such as fuchsias and pelargoniums.
  • Make regular, successional sowings of fast-maturing vegetables.
  • Sow tomatoes, sweet and chilli peppers, cucumbers and aubergines indoors with warmth.
  • Mulch the soil around trees and shrubs with a 5-7.5cm (2-3in) thick mulch.
  • Keep removing suckers from plants that are grafted onto a rootstock as soon as you see them.
  • This is still a great time to plant new shrubs and herbaceous perennials.
  • Buy summer-flowering bulbs, such as begonias, dahlias, gladioli and lilies if you haven’t done it yet.
  • Deadhead spring-flowering bulbs when the flowers fade and give them a liquid feed.
  • Continue to tie in the shoots of climbers as they grow, spreading them out evenly over their support.
  • Make sure you grow plants that are beneficial to butterflies, bees and other garden-friendly insects.
  • There’s still time to sow hardy annual seeds outside to produce lots of flowers for the summer.
  • Keep adding suitable material to the compost bin to make your own soil improver and mulch.
  • Continue to feed garden birds - they need lots of food to feed their young.
  • Keep hoe and secateurs blades sharp so they work efficiently.

See the full list of things to do this month at LoveTheGarden