Down Garden Services

APRIL APRIL SHOWERS BRING FORTH MAY FLOWERS More weather folklore "April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain." - T.S. Eliot Flower of the month - SWEET PEA Spring rain leaves the ground saturated and cold, so sowing seeds outdoors may have to be delayed for a few weeks. If you have the space try sowing some indoors in anticipation of better weather. Also use cloches to cover outdoor beds to keep further rain off and warm up the soil for sowing later. Crops which can be started now include beetroot, quick-maturing broad beans such as 'The Sutton', carrots, leeks, peas, and salad crops. Lawns can be scarified to remove thatch. Moss can be treated and as the grass is growing well by now the weeds can be treated with a selective herbicide. You can still lift and divide herbaceous plants which are coming into growth. This allows you to spread the plant into larger drifts and to remove the older centres of clumps which do not produce strong shoots. Use a spade or a large knife to cut up the clump if it's too tough to tease apart by hand. With large clumps cut with the spade before lifting as it makes for easier handling. Selectively prune established shrubs to keep them compact and producing strong flowering branches. The ones such as Spiraea x bumalda which flower on the current year's growth can be reduced all over, but for others which flower on the pervious year's stems such as Forsytha remove one in three of the stems choosing the older ones which have just bloomed. Cut back to a low bud to keep the shrubs in a neat clump. Remove the faded flowers of Rhododendrons and Azaleas to prevent seed developing, so saving enegry and encouraging new shoots to grow away strongly. Look out for unopened flower buds which may be infected with Bud Blast. Clear out the compost bin ready for the coming season. Use the mature stuff in the garden and bag up any that is left. Put any partially composted material back to start the next batch. If you are going to plant runner beans or courgettes this year, now is the time to prepare the ground where they are to grow with plenty of manure or compost. Sow the seed in individual pots under glass or on a windowsill. Later when planting out the beans, try making an arch with two lengths of quarter inch wire or plastic water pipe and drape large mesh netting wire over them. The runner beans will grow over the arch and you can easily pick the pods from under it, with a wig-wam they tend to be hidden in the centre. Plant begonia corms in pots of mulitpurpose compost and keep moist, but not too wet or they may rot. Keep them indoors to grow on, ready for planting outside in late May or early June when the danger of frost is over. If you are not sure about the right way up to plant them, tap them out after a few weeks and the new shoots will have appeared - then replant the right way up. When daffodils are past their best, prevent seed production by dead-heading to save the plant's energy. (Interestingly 200 years ago they would only be coming into flower now - another indication of the warming climate). Give a feed of general fertilizer to build up energy in the bulbs for next year's blooms. Mark clumps which did not bloom well for lifting and dividing later when the foliage has died away. In containers they usually bloom well the first year, but need to be planted out to obtain a good show the following year. To combat weeds on paths and mature shrub beds, now is the time to apply a weedkiller which suppresses germination of seeds. Don't use where bulbs are planted around the shrubs, a mulch of compost or bark is best here.