Gardening Jobs for April
Spring has finally arrived and soon the colours will be blooming in the garden, and keep your eye out for local bluebells woodland walks.The longer daylight means spending more time in your garden. Whether you’re relaxing and basking in the warmer weather or putting on your gloves and getting your thumbs green - there’s nothing quite like being outdoors. Our list of gardening jobs will be sure to keep you busy throughout April.
What needs planting in April?
If you want a colourful display this Summer, now is the time to start planting cosmos, primulas, pansies, poppies, monardas and violas.
Strawberry runners can be planted in April and expect fruit within a few weeks. Potting them in hanging baskets will ensure the fruit hangs down and placing straw around the base will keep slugs and snails away.
It’s the last chance for you to sow tomatoes, chillies and aubergines. Keep them on a heated propagator to speed up germination.
Other vegetables to sow this April are beetroot, carrots, celeriac, courgettes, squashes, leeks, peas, lettuce and other salad veggies.
Sow your sunflower seeds this month, place them in a sunny, open spot and water regularly.
General Garden Maintenance
Lawn care - Remove moss and weeds in the turf and boost growth with a rich lawn feed. Lay new turf or sow grass seeds to repair damaged lawn spots.
Weeding - keep on top of weeding. As the weather warms up weeds will become an endless problem if not kept on top of.
Ponds - Add new aquatic plants to freshen up the pond and turn on fountains ensuring you’ve cleaned the filters beforehand.
Sheds & Greenhouses - make sure to remove debris and clean guttering to allow April showers to fill up water butts.
Pruning - Last chance to prune climbing and rambling roses. See our guide to rose pruning for all the tips and tricks.
Indoor Gardening
As the weather is warming, your house plants will start to come back to life again. Start watering more regularly and feeding them with a liquid fertiliser once a week.
If you haven’t already, move your house plants to a sunnier place but avoid places with temperature fluctuations caused by draughts.
Keep an eye on pests such as aphids and mealybugs.
Wildlife Gardening
You may notice more caterpillars on leafy plants - this will attract many different garden birds and they will be your pest control.
Sowing wildflower seeds such as field poppies, cornflowers and corncockle will not only add vibrant colour but will attract pollinators such as bees and butterflies.
Most animals would have emerged from hibernation so you can now safely empty your compost bin.
Continue feeding the wildlife that comes into your garden. Garden birds can be fed seeds and now is the time to start phasing out suet and fat feed. Hedgehogs may still need a helping hand so leaving out dog/cat food will fatten them up in time for breeding season.
Gardening Advice from Henchman
For more gardening tips and advice see our gardening guides, we cover a range of topics such as topiary, hedgecutting and vegetable growing. If you're looking for some inspiration, see our Pinterest.
Looking to refresh your garden kit? See our garden tools checklist and all our garden accessories.
