The Garden In April

It’s all change out there, the roadsides are filling up with clouds of cow-parsley [aka Queen Annes’ Lace] & the bluebells have begun to carpet the woods with that wonderful violet-blue haze. The garden in April is full of promise, though in my garden this includes the promise of bindweed, as well as lots of good things too.

We’ve lived here for 2 years now, most of the major changes have been made, I’m hoping that by next year the garden will be all set up & all the permanent plants will be in place.

We spent a day making a ‘Fedge’ recently, it’s a fence/hedge made from willow. It’ll sprout a tall fringe of new shoots at the top to screen a small road that runs alongside the garden. Willow is a perfect plant for our garden, helping to will help soak up excess water in the garden, & it looks pretty. I’ll write a post in a few weeks when the growth has started & there’s something to show you.

Vegetables:

Meanwhile in the greenhouse the dahlias are growing well, the tomato plants have hardly grown, despite being tucked up with a covering of fleece at night …. though I have to admit I have forgot about them on a couple of nights.

Purple podded peas are doing well in the greenhouse, I’ll sow another batch at the weekend to get a good continuous harvest. They’re new to me but look so pretty, though apparently the peas are green when cooked.

I usually sow beetroot seeds directly into the soil outside, but this year I’ve sown them in the greenhouse in small trays to be planted out when the weather warms up. I sowed a them just a few seeds at 2 week intervals t the allotment, which meant delightful little beets  in succession, rather than a glut of them.

At the moment my mantra is, sow much more than you think you’ll need & check the plant list to make sure nothing is forgotten.

Flowers:

Nasturtiums are a must, especially for the dryer parts of the garden with poor soil. I’ve started the seeds in the greenhouse so I can water them regularly & generally keep an eye on them.

I have a few sweet peas that are making sturdy little plants, despite being sown late. There are too many bare fences here, & I reckon the deep purple Morning Glory that I’ve grown will be a good way of disguising them.

I’m continuing to weed because chopping them up with a hoe is much easier than having to pull out big weeds in a few weeks time.

Summer flowering bulbs:

I have yet to buy lilies, but now is the time to plant them ready for flowering in the summer, along with Eucomis & Nerines.

It’s a good time to give houseplants a little attention. Move them into bigger pots if the roots are poking through the base of the pot or they dry out quickly after watering. If they don’t need a bigger pot, refresh the compost by gently removing a little & replacing it with fresh.

I hope your garden is thriving.

Jill

all photos: Jill Anderson.