RHS tips for April
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
March and April bring out the usual pests like slugs and snails. While difficult to deal with, we seem to find a way. But the other pests prevalent at this time of year have two legs and come aggressively knocking at your door, offering to clean your drive or tidy up your garden. They know people want their places cleaned up in the Spring. There is no happy outcome with this sort, so please just say ‘No’. It will save you a lot of money and worry. If you need work doing, the best thing to do is ask a friend or neighbour to recommend someone or contact British Soil in Wenvoe, as they have a list of approved contractors.
RHS tips for April
- Keep weeds under control with regular hoeing.
- Protect fruit blossom from late frosts.
- Tie in climbing and rambling roses.
- Sow hardy annuals, herbs and wild flower mixes outdoors.
- Start to feed citrus plants.
- Increase water to house plants.
- Feed shrubs and roses.
- Prune fig trees.
- Divide clumps of bamboo
- Repair bare patches on the lawn.
Everyone is busy in the garden, planting out, sowing seeds or carrying all you can manage from garden centres. However, you do need to be careful as a late frost will ruin all your hard work. Listen out for Derek and keep some fleece handy if temperatures are going to drop.
Mrs Woodruffe of Greave Close loves cosmos which is a great plant and a good cut flower. It will stay in bloom until the first frosts, but you must keep dead heading. Young sweet pea plants need the tops pinched out. This will make the plant stronger and increase side shoots. Perennials are always a good thing to grow from seed or buy as plants. You will, however, need to give them enough room to not just grow up but also to spread out.
Sow sunflower seeds directly into the soil at the end of the month with a little compost to help speed germination. Mark each seed with a cane which will be needed as support. If you put a two pence coin alongside the sunflower seed, then you won’t have any trouble with slugs.
Camellia flowers are now starting to fade, so pick off blooms as they turn brown to keep the plant looking tidy. Once all flowers have gone, clean around base of plant then give the shrub a good boost of ericaceous liquid feed.
Brian and Sandra Jones plan to open their garden in July. If you would like to be on the list of gardens to visit, please get in touch. Some of you don’t realise how good you are.
Take care and happy gardening.