Top Tips for April

The National Self Build & Renovation Centre

High:
14°C
Low:
9°C

With the bitterly cold weather seemingly here to stay, here's our top tips for gardening in April

Gale force winds, snow & showers - we've had it all in Swindon over the last few weeks, so you're probably a bit confused about what you should be doing in your garden. Well here's our top tips for this month to point you in the right direction:

1. Take care of your lawn. It's your little patch of green space, and you should look after it! If you're starting to notice lots of moss, now is the perfect time to put down some treatment/killer to get rid of it. Once treated, the moss will turn black, but don't be alarmed!

If you find you're left with bare patches after treating for moss, just sprinkle some good-quality seed over the area and water in.

2. Don't start too early. It's very tempting to start buying your summer bedding, but unless you have a greenhouse, conservatory or cold frame that you can store them in, it's probably not a good idea. Late April/May frosts are not unheard of in the UK, which would damage/kill any young plants you put in the ground.

3. Keep one eye on the sky. As we mentioned, the weather's been extremely cold for the last few weeks. Protect any shrubs, vegetables or young plants that might be affected with some fleece or even an old burlap sack.

4. Get rid of that algae. With the warmer spring days comes an increased growth of algae build-up in your pond, which will start to turn the water green & cloudy - not good for admiring any wildlife you might have in there.

One easy way to reduce this is to drop a string bag of barley straw into the water. As it rots down, it uses up any excess nutrients that would otherwise have been feeding the algae. Just don't forget to take the bag out before it completely rots (about 5-6 months).

5. Start collecting water. With all this cold weather it's hard to imagine there being a hosepipe ban later in the year, but if we have a sudden heat-wave then there's always a chance!

We're not saying you should panic-buy all of the water butts from your local garden centre, but some sensible water-collecting now will save you having to watch your plants with and die in later months.

Plant

Lavender

Laurel or box hedging

Lilly & Gladioli bulbs