April is a bit of a mixed bag and traditionally the phrase ‘four seasons in one day’ is never more true than on a day in April. With that in mind be prepared for anything….. frost, hail, snow, heavy rain, cold, drought, sunshine, heat… the list goes on. When we are having more of the latter here are a few things you can be getting on with in the garden.
- Feed tulips with a general fertiliser such as organic chicken manure pellets.
- Dead head spring bulbs.
- Protect the new soft growth of delphiniums, lupins and hostas from slugs and snails.
- Feed your acid loving plants (Azaleas, Camellias, Rhododendrons) with an ericaceous fertiliser and remove any faded flowers.
- Plant out your sweet peas, as long as the risk of frost has passed.
- Tie in new growth on climbers such as Clematis, wisteria and honeysuckle.
- Sow hardy annual flowers directly into areas where you want them to flower.
- Lift and divide clumps of Hemerocallis.
- Plant out groups of gladioli corms to a depth of 10-15cm.
- Prune early-flowering clematis like Clematis montana, immediately after it has flowered to control its size.