Spring

March

The new season starts in earnest this month. Nature stirs into growth as the weather improves and the soil warms. Drifts of bright yellow daffodils proclaim that spring is really here.

Flowers

  • Finish off pruning Roses
  • If not already done lift and divide congested clumps of Snowdrops while still in leaf
  • Prune back autumn flowering Clematis
  • Take the old flower heads off winter flowering heathers and trim the plants to shape
  • Feed Rose bushes
  • Mulch any areas of garden missed in the autumn
  • Cut back Cornus and Salix stems to encourage new growth next year

Fruit

  • Mulch Raspberry canes with compost or manure
  • This is the latest time that bare-root fruit bushes and trees can be planted
  • In warmer areas spray Peaches and Nectarines to help control Peach leaf curl

Vegetables

  • In mild areas plant early crop potatoes and shallots
  • Finish digging over ground

Lawns

  • Lay new turf when there is no frost
  • If seeding a lawn prepare the area now
  • If cutting grass, cut with the mower set at its highest setting

General Tasks

  • Sow seeds of beetroot, leeks, lettuce and summer cabbages in a heated greenhouse
  • Sow tender annuals in a heated propagator
  • Start Dahlia tubers into growth
  • Watch out for fungal diseases and spray if necessary
  • Construct or modify rock gardens
  • Keep greenhouse heaters working efficiently
  • Re-pot houseplants into bigger pots
  • Plant hardy herbs e.g., Mint, Sage, Thyme

Plants which are at their best in March

  • Helleborus Orientalis
  • Camellia 'Donation'
  • Double Primula
  • Cordyaks 'China Blue'
  • Clematis Armandii
  • Primula Veris
  • Chimanathus Praecox
  • Kilmarnock Willow
  • Daphne Mezereum
  • Forsythia

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April

The garden is now a mass of feverish activity as balmy days encourage fast growth. Spring bulbs recede and early summer flowering shrubs start to perform.

Flowers

  • Plant Gladioli's in a sunny part of the garden, in well drained soil
  • Plant Alpines for spring and early summer flowers
  • Feed all plants in the garden using a slow release fertiliser which will make plants grow and flower well
  • Remove dead flowers from spring bulbs and feed plants with fertiliser
  • Wait until the leaves of daffodils and other bulbs have gone brown before you trim them
  • Construct garden pools and plant water lilies or other pond plants
  • Sprinkle rose fertiliser around the plants
  • Begin spraying roses to control pests and diseases
  • Bedding plants can be grown from seeds
  • Cut back any tall old stems of Buddlea (Butterfly Bush)
  • Use slug and snail control to protect plants new shoots
  • Late frosts can still cause damage to Camellia and Magnolia buds so use garden fleece to protect plants on frosty nights

Fruit

  • Mulch fruit trees with manure or bark
  • Start a spray programme on apple and other fruit trees to control pests and diseases
  • Strawberries need to be planted as soon as possible
  • Pinch out badly placed shoots on wall trained fruit trees to prevent scarring of stems
  • If your gooseberries suffered from mildew last year spray with fungicide now

Vegetables

  • Plant out onion sets or garlic cloves
  • Plant potatoes now
  • Many outdoor vegetables can now be grown from seed
  • Thin out over crowded vegetable seedlings towards the end of the month

Lawns

  • Re-seed or re-turf bald patches of lawn
  • Cut grass with the lawn mower blades set high for the first few times
  • Spread lawn fertiliser or combined weed and feed to produce a good lawn

Greenhouse

  • Continue to sow seeds of vegetable plants in a heated greenhouse
  • Transplant seedlings from earlier sowings of flowering or vegetables plants into 9cm pots to grow them on
  • Pot up rooted cuttings or baby plants of geraniums, fuchsias and other half hardy perennial plants
  • Sow seeds of tomatos, marrows, peppers. cucumbers or buy young plants to grow on in a heated greenhouse
  • Shade seedlings when the weather is particularly sunny so that they will not wilt or scorch

General Tasks

  • Clean paths and patio areas so that they look good and are not slippery
  • Use a liquid feed on any clumps of bulbs to strengthen them before their leaves die back
  • Trim off the dead flower heads from winter/spring flowering heathers

Plants which are at their best in April

  • Bergenia
  • Dicentra
  • Doronicum
  • Saxifraga
  • Berberis
  • Camellia
  • Magnolia
  • Pieris
  • Prunus (flowering cherry tree)
  • Rhododendron

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May

Flowers

  • Finish sowing hardy annuals the later that they are sown the later they will flower
  • Put support frames into herbaceous borders to support plants with a floppy habit i.e., Lupins
  • Dig up, divide and replant polyanthus after they have flowered, discard any with disease
  • Start to harden off bedding plants by putting them out for the day and back in for the night
  • Protect susceptible plants from slugs
  • Clear out spring bedding from beds and borders when it fades and fork in fertiliser
  • Plant hanging baskets put them in the greenhouse until the risk of frost is gone
  • Watch out for pest and disease on all plants
  • Deadhead spring bulbs but do not cut the foliage back yet)
  • Make sure newly planted plants are watered in dry spells.

Fruit

  • Harvest Rhubarb regularly
  • Mulch around strawberries to prevent the fruit being spoiled, use straw or black polythene
  • Destroy any leaves of peach and nectarine which show signs of leaf curl
  • Spray a systemic fungicide on Gooseberries if mildew is a problem
  • Water newly planted fruit trees and bushes in dry spells.

Vegetables

  • It is possible to plant out brassica's (cauliflower/cabbage) if they have been grown in a greenhouse. Remember to use a Brassica collar to keep cabbage root fly away
  • Harvest any early Rhubarb
  • Most vegetable crops can be sown but delay if the soil is cold and wet
  • Plant main crop potatoes
  • Earth up early crop potatoes
  • Weed between any vegetable crops that are growing
  • Harvest any Asparagus spears that are showing.

Lawns

  • Apply a weedkiller & fertiliser combination
  • Seed new lawns and cover to keep birds away
  • Mow lawns once a week if needed. Avoid cutting if there is frost on the grass
  • It is now a suitable time to spot treat lawns if no general lawn weedkiller is used
  • Lay new turf and keep well watered if a dry spell ensues.

Greenhouse

  • Tie in the lengthening growths of vines
  • Ventilate well and damp down on sunny days as long as seed are not being raised
  • Plant tomatoes in unheated greenhouses
  • Continue pricking out half hardy and tender seedlings
  • In a heated greenhouse remove side shoots from tomatoes, but not bush varieties
  • Pinch out side shoots of Melons and Cucumbers when two side shoots have been formed
  • Watch for pests and treat immediately using either a chemical spray or a biological control
  • Ensure heating is still available in case of a cold night.

Ponds

  • Plant up new aquatic baskets with water lilies and oxygenating plants
  • Feed fish if they are near the surface
  • Keep pumps and filters running constantly.

General Tasks

  • Control slugs and snails by trapping
  • Visit the garden centre for new pots and basket plants
  • Watch out for late frosts and keep fleece handy
  • Check watering each day as temperatures rise.

Plants which are at their best in May

  • Deciduous Evergreen Azaleas
  • Aquilegia
  • Syringa vulgaris cultivars (Lilac)
  • Dodecatheon Meadia (Shooting Stars)
  • Ornamental Cherries
  • Crataegus (Hawthorn)
  • Clematis Macropetela
  • Meconopsis betonicifolia
  • Centaurea Montana
  • Berberis stenophylla

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