Gardening Calendar - April

April sees longer days and hopefully warmer temperatures. Spring bulbs bring welcome colour to borders and pots with tulips gracing us with their colourful displays. Enjoy instant colour by planting primulas and polyanthus in pots and at the front of borders

Now is the time to sow hardy annuals, such as love-in-a-mist and pot marigolds, as well as native wildflowers into gaps in borders. Ensure you’re supporting your herbaceous plants before they get too tall, sow sweet peas at the base of supports, and transplant those sown in autumn into their final positions. Protect the new shoots of Hostas, Delphiniums, Lupins and other vulnerable plants from slugs and snails.

As the new leaves begin to emerge on roses start spraying them with fungicide to control mildew, rust and black spot. Check for aphids and rub them off before they develop into major infestations.

In the vegetable garden, it’s time to plant hardy herbs, grow pumpkins, asparagus, tomatoes and tasty beans. Expect the inevitable April showers this month but when you can get out, plant second-early and maincrop potatoes. Place cardboard collars around the stems of brassicas to deter cabbage root fly from laying their eggs. Sow runner beans, French beans, cucumbers, courgettes, pumpkins and sweetcorn in pots. Just watch out for frosts and keep any tender plants indoors for now.

Now is the ideal time to sow new lawns or repair any bare patches. Scarify to remove any moss and aerate to encourage root growth and overall lawn health. Remove any weeds in your lawn and feed with a nitrogen-rich lawn food.

April is a busy time in the greenhouse, prick out seedlings growing in pots and trays as soon as they produce their first true leaves. Transplant greenhouse tomatoes into growing bags or large containers and tie in the stems to supports. Pinch out the shoot tips of fuchsias to develop bushier plants and plant up hanging baskets and pots with summer bedding, but keep indoors until after the last frost.

Hedgehogs are big eaters of slugs and snails, help them in your garden by installing hedgehog holes in fences so they can move easily between gardens. A log pile with old sticks and leaves where they can make a nest is ideal and avoid using slug pellets.