Barbara Stockitt's Guide to Classic Gardening...

April

It is important to keep your BUXUS plants “clean”.  The incidence of disease and pest damage can be avoided with proper care.  This is a good time to clean out the leaves that have accumulated in the centre of the bushes, shake out the debris and rake it all away.  Check that your box in containers is adequately watered and turn the containers from time to time so that the plants grow evenly.

TAXUS in containers require similar care, though thinning is not generally necessary.  It does need adequate watering and feeding.

Any tender plants in the HERBACEOUS BORDERS can now have the protection  removed.  If you wish, you can lift and divide them.  When the soil has begun to warm up, apply a good layer of mulch to prevent the weeds coming through.  Spread the mulch after the rain so that the moisture can be retained in the soil.  Where necessary you can commence staking those plants which need support.  Established ROSES need top dressing of balanced fertilizer either Growmore or a special rose fertilizer.  Once the soil has become warm a mulch or organic material will help feed the plants, keep the soil moist and help to suppress weeds.

Complete any pruning of SHRUBS that was due in March, which had to be delayed because of cold weather. Prune early flowering shrubs when they have finished flowering.  If the winter has been hard some shrubs may look dead, but leave those a month or two before discarding, because they may well throw up signs of new growth in due course..

Mulch newly planted HEDGES with compost to help to keep the weeds under control and keep the moisture in the soil.

Once the risk of hard frosts is over the planting of summer flowering BULBS is possible i.e. ALLIUM. FRITILLAREA and GLADIOLUS corms.

In the VEGETABLE GARDEN continue sowing of beetroot, radishes, spinach, carrots, peas and broad beans for succession.  In the seed beds sow cauliflower, cabbage, kale and purple sprouting broccoli.

Increase the frequency of LAWN mowing to suit the speed at which the grass is growing.  Do not mow closer than 5mm if you do it can cause a building-up of moss and weeds.

Liquid feed fertilizer to FRUIT TREES in containers and WALL plants such as peaches, nectarines, apricots and figs.  The fertilizer needs to be potassium-rich.  Therefore a tomato fertilizer would be ideal.