Jobs in the Garden this Week
There are no excuses; it’s well and truly time to get busy and start gardening in April. This is the most exciting time of the year in the gardening calendar. Things suddenly begin to look green and vibrant and the warmer days and lighter evenings can gladden the heart of every gardener. So, it’s time to shake off the winter blues and get stuck into the shrubbery.
The days are warming up, but nights can still be cold so be aware of sharp frosts. It’s tempting to put out tender young plants, but be careful, don’t buy bedding plants until next month, unless you have a greenhouse.
Gardening in April – keep Slugs and Snails at Bay!
With the warmer weather and spring rains, now we will almost certainly see an increase the gardener’s chief foes – slugs and snails. They can cause enormous damage to young plants, delphiniums, lupins, scabious and hostas make a very tasty meal for a slug! There are several organic ways of dealing with these little pests, I sink a jar of beer in the ground with the lip just proud of the surface. In the morning I find it filled with an amazing number of drowned snails and have no compunction about disposing of the corpses. If you’re squeamish, try put a layer of coarse grit or egg shells around vulnerable plants.
Lawn Care Gardening in April
Now is the time to do some work on the lawn after the winter damage. The first thing to do is rake it vigorously with a spring tine lawn rake. Leaving winter debris on your lawn will make it difficult for the young grass shoots to emerge. Once it has been raked, give the lawn a dressing with a special spring food, available in garden centres now.
Wildlife Gardening in April
If you have a problem area where grass doesn’t grow, you may want to think about alternatives to a lawn as part of your gardening in April jobs do some research. Perhaps one of the best alternatives to a lawn is to create a wildflower meadow with a path mown through. There are many different varieties of wildflower meadow seed mixes available to suit all conditions. They can be tricky to establish but once you’ve got the hang of it, a wildflower meadow is not only a thing of beauty, great for wildlife, and, low maintenance! For more ideas on alternatives to a lawn read our blog here https://oxfordgardendesign.co.uk/alternative-lawn-ideas/
Gardening Month by Month UK
If you didn’t give your plants an organic feed last month, gardening in April should include using a chemical fertiliser now, just when the plants are growing so quickly. The areas of the garden that most need fertilisers every year are the vegetable, fruit patch, annual borders and plants in containers. Choose a slow release fertiliser and sprinkle over your borders. The rain should take it down into the roots of the plants. A good organic fertiliser is chicken pellets, scatter them liberally over the borders.
What Flowers to Plant in April UK
If you borders have ‘bare patches’ now is a good time to sow hardy annuals outdoors. Good example are love-in-a-mist, nasturtium, sunflowers, and sweet peas. There are lots to choose from and it’s a simple job of sowing them straight into the ground. Make sure the soil is well prepared and weed free and sprinkle them where you wish. The only thing you need to do is make sure that they are well-watered and kept weed free. If you’re not sure which are weeds, a good rule of thumb is the weeds are usually the seedlings that are growing quickest!
Keeping Your Patio Looking Good
Getting the garden ready for summer should include giving attention to the patio. Regular sweeping is key to keeping the patio looking tidy. Dirt and slime can build up on a patio over time. Weeds growing between the stones can be removed with a knife, or use a specialist weed killing product to stop them coming back. Using a high-pressure washer is the easiest way of spring-cleaning the patio. If you don’t want to invest in a pressure washer, try a proprietary stone-cleaning product. Alternatively, the most economical, and environmentally friendly, method of cleaning slabs is to use a solution of detergent, warm water and some thorough scrubbing.
Gardening April Ideas
If you’ve never used a mulch before this might be the year to consider it and now is the time to do it before plants have put on too much growth. Mulches are basically ‘coverings’ placed on the surface of cultivated soil. They can be applied to bare soil or to cover the surface of compost in containers. Over the years, I’ve tried all sorts of materials as a mulch and have found the best one to be well rotted bark, which will break down gradually to release nutrients into the soil and help improve its structure. The key is to apply a really thick layer. An 80L bag will cover an area of about 1 meter. In addition to preserving water, a thick layer of mulch suppresses weeds, improves soil texture, deters some pests, protects the roots of plants from extreme temperatures and give a decorative finish. If there’s one thing I’d encourage all gardeners to do this summer it would be to become a mulcher!
If you live in the Gloucestershire area and need some help with your garden, we’d be pleased to help. Contact us here or call us on 01993 813721
