Gardening Jobs For April

April plants

• Pieris ‘Forest Flame’
• Dicentra Spectabilis
• Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’
• Auriculas

• Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘Purpurea’

(all available at Palmers)

April Jobs Checklist

• Protect vulnerable plants from frost
  
• Protect hostas from slugs & snails
• Hoe borders & remove weeds
  
• Add fertiliser to borders, fruit & veg
  
• Mulch and/or manure bare soil
• Dead head daffoldils & Narcissi
  
• Plant/move evergreens
  
• Sow hardy annuals
  
• Plant out sweet peas
• Feed lawns with spring lawn feed
  
• Plant up strawberry plants
• Sow vegetable seeds

General Maintenance

• keep vulnerable plants and new shoots protected at night time, in case of frost
• hoe your borders and remove any weeds
• add general purpose fertiliser to borders and fruit and vegetables patches, and cover with mulch
• service any gardening equipment that is looking old and tired

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Flowers and Plants

• dead head your Daffodils and Narcissi, and feed them with a liquid feed and a bit of bonemeal (remember that the leaves are important as they help them to replenish the bulb next year, so don’t go cutting them off)
• plant and move evergreen plants, conifers and trees
• finish pruning your Roses and start to spray them with a fungicide; this will help to prevent mildew and black spot. Repeat every 2 weeks up until Autumn
• prune your Hydrangeas by snipping off old stems to just above the topmost healthy buds
• plant hardier Summer bulbs and up-sprouted Dahlia tubers
• sow hardy annuals like Nasturium and Calendula in drifts
• sow your Sweet Peas outdoors
• Summer bedding will soon be available at Palmers, ready for you to grow on

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Lawns

• feed with a Spring lawn feed to encourage new growth
• sow new lawns on well prepared ground

Fruit

There’s not a lot to do this month with your fruit, except:

• plant up your strawberry plants in planters or hanging baskets
• protect with netting to keep of the birds

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Vegetables

Palmers now has a full selection of vegetables, herbs and salad crops

• sow as seeds, making sure you always follow the packet instructions
• plants out your shallots, onions and garlic

Don’t Forget The Birds

Birds will be building their nests at this time of year, ready to lay their eggs. So make sure you keep them supplied with fresh food and water

Garden Pests

They’re back! Those annoying slugs and snails eating all your plants…

• use pet friendly slug pellets to help get rid of them
• remember that they love those big Hosta leaves, so drench the ground around their base with a liquid slug killer
• pick off the snails, and do with them as you like

Happy gardening!