April can be a fickle month where it either pours down with rain or is almost as hot as summer. However, whilst we may complain about the rain, it is just what the garden needs at this time of year to help young plants and seedling grow.
Soil
The fertility of any soil is directly dependent on the conversion of dead organic material into nutrients. This kind of formation also takes place in concentrated form in your compost bin so make sure you have a good container available.
They are available in all shapes and sizes or you can build your own. Your compost bin can include garden waste (leaves, grass clippings, etc) and kitchen waste such as eggshells, tired fruit and vegetables, tea leaves and coffee grounds. Try and avoid fish, cheese and meat remnants as they will smell and attract animals.
Compost usually takes 6-9 months to form.
Vegetables
Outside
Sow broad beans, beetroot, carrots, chicory, lettuce, spring onions, parsnips, radish, spinach and broccoli.
Outdoor leeks can be started in a seedbed.
Keep a close watch on early potatoes and protect any early shoots with soil, dry straw or bracken.
Sow peas and make further sowings at three week intervals up to the beginning of June.
If you want big cauliflowers, savoy cabbages and Brussels sprouts for the end of the year, you’ll need to sow the seeds this month.
In the Greenhouse
Sow aubergine, French beans, celery and outdoor tomatoes.
French beans can be started in the greenhouse. It’s a good idea to plant two seeds together at 75mm apart and then remove the weaker one if they both germinate.
You can grow some to maturity in the greenhouse if you would like an early crop.
Grow an early variety of leek such as ‘King Richard’.
Cucumbers from a late March sowing will now be ready for planting in a heated greenhouse.
Make a further sowing of capsicums and seedlings from the late March sowing should be potted singly, in 75mm pots in compost.
Fruit and Berries
Outside
Fruit trees should be covered in blossom at this time of year.
A good range of apple and pear trees are sold in containers, ready trained so you only need select the shape you like.
Strawberry plants can be planted in April.
Spray apples and pears if they were attacked last year by scab disease.
Flowers and Shrubs
Outside
April provides ideal growing conditions for new plants and is a time you will see tulips, daffodils and lilies.
Tulips can continue to flower well into May and they tend to show to the best advantage when planted in groups.
Spring is the time to choose summer and autumn flowering varieties of lily such as the Turks cap lily. Choose a sunny and wind-free position and keep watering them regularly.
April is a good month to sow hardy annuals which are a good method of providing inexpensive and colourful borders.
The seed should be sown thinly and lightly covered with finely sifted soil.
You should also consider annual climbers in April such as morning glory (Lathyrus odoratus), cathedral bells (Cobaea scandens) and climbing nasturtium (Tropaeolum speciosum). All need a sunny spot with some support such as a pergola or fence.
Your garden needs large quantities of water at this time of year as you will be sowing, pricking out and planting and you need to water after each step. Make sure you have a good quality hose, watering can and rainwater storage butt.
April is a good time to plan and plot a rockery. You will be spoilt for choice with the number of annuals, climbers, perennials and grasses. See also our section on Rock Gardens.
Lift and divide polyanthus after flowering
Top dress camellias
April is a good month to plant gladioli which are an excellent plant for cutting. If you plant a few every fortnight between early April and late May, you will obtain a good succession.
Plant evergreen trees and shrubs. Protect in continued spells of cold east winds either by making a screen of sacking or fine mesh netting.
Clean up your borders by cutting away any old dead growth form last year’s herbaceous plants and give the soil a light forking over. Mix in some compost or manure.
Prune early flowering shrubs like berberis, forsythia and spiraea immediately after flowering.
Cut back tender perennials
In the greenhouse
Propagate dahlias
Consider buying bedding plants as ‘plugs’ from garden centres or seed suppliers – this will reduce the amount of work you have to do to propagate them. Keep in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse and pinch back a few times by removing the tips of the leading shoots.
Sow annuals – you can make a second sowing of annuals and half hardy annuals for flowering in pots in the greenhouse.
Lawns
Turf laying and repairing bare places in lawns can be carried out in April (as well as March) – choose a day when the surface is dry enough to be walked on and can be broken down reasonably well with the fork or rake. See our section on Lawns for more information.
Subject to weather, your lawn may need its first mowing of the year. Before cutting, rake with a wire rake.
Make sure you give your mower a check over first.Building
All plants prefer rainwater to tap water and it’s free so it’s a good idea to make sure you are collecting some. Be sure to have a provision for preventing overflow when the barrel or container is full.
Check your paths and patios to see if any need repairing or relaying. Your plants will not have had time to spill over the edges yet so you will be able to tidy up the full width of the paths. See also our section on Patios, Drives, Decks and Paving.
Other Jobs
April is a good time to make sure you have all the tools and equipment you need. Replace or repair any broken items and make sure you have a good supply of garden string, pots and compost.
Loosen or renew any tree ties that may be digging into the bark
Slugs and snails will start to make an appearance, so sprinkle grit or egg shells around vulnerable plants, which slugs don't like crawling across. Careful use of slug pellets would also help, although bear in mind that some wildlife rely on slugs and snails for their food source, so keep this in mind. Hide slug pellets under stones so that other animals can't eat them.