Top jobs for APRIL
1 Don’t stop feeding garden birds just because spring is here. Although it is easier for them to find food, in the busy breeding season they’ll need all the help they can get!
2 If you don’t have much space for veg in your garden, why not try courgettes in a pot? The ‘Black Hawk’ variety has a climbing habit that makes it great trained up a wall or trellis.
3 Plant up flower pouches using small plants and pinch them out to encourage side shoots. Let them establish in a frost-free spot such as a well-lit porch.
4 Insert stakes around tall perennials such as delphiniums (right) before growth gets too large.
5 Start to increase watering of houseplants and feed them once a week with a proprietary feed. Mist regularly with tepid water.
6 Install a water butt if you don’t have one already, and start collecting rainwater in preparation for the warmer months.
9 Everyone’s familiar with springflowering bulbs, but it’s time to start thinking about the beautiful summer varieties (see p50). Get ordering your alliums, camas, gladioli, eucomis, anemones and freesias.
7 Plant lily bulbs three per 25cm pot filled with John Innes No.3 mixed with 20% by volume grit, ericaceous soil-less compost or leaf mould. Lilies will also benefit from a slow-release granular feed.
8 Clear algae from patio surfaces as well as from fences, walls and pathways. Try a pressure washer like the Ryobi 110 Bar Electric Pressure Washer to make cleaning a breeze!
10 Spring bedding should be flowering well still. To keep it in good health, deadhead regularly so the plants put more energy into new buds.