Twenty fourth edition - April 2003
How good it feels to be able to get out in the warm sunshine once more
and work in the garden without being cluttered up with layers of clothes. March gave us
some wonderfully warm Spring days and the gardens are looking very fresh and colourful. Of
course there is a danger of quite severe night frosts, when shrubs such as Pieris Japonica
that have produced tender new shoots will need night protection, but the bright sunny days
more than compensate for that.
This is a time of year to lift and divide perennials that have become
crowded or weak, which not only rejuvenates the plant itself but increases your stock. I
have just increased my stock of wild mauve primulas, and from three parent plants I now
have 30 babies which will in turn spread. Another trick is to layer a few stems of
different shrubs whilst still attached to the parent plant. Using this method I have just
gained several each of Winter flowering Jasmine, forsythia, dogwood and penstemon that all
rooted over winter. It is a nice feeling to have `won` something...
Jobs for the month - April
Garden furniture - (I shall leave this section here for
another month)
 Give wooden furniture a coat of paint to freshen it up. I love
the job so much that I tend to get carried away and will paint almost anything in sight!
(see the summerhouse on the left.) I find that heavy terracotta pots are too heavy for me
to lift, so I buy the cheap plastic ones and paint them with the same paint. My favourite
tubs cost £1.99 and are filled with Japanese grass, which comes up year after year. (See
picture on the left and notice the painted trellis too!)
Bedding Plants
Now is a good time to start sowing your seeds for a good
display of summer bedding plants. When I was younger and more impatient than I am now, I
used to start sowing seeds in January. It wasn`t worth it at all, as the seedlings always
became very leggy due to lack of daylight and damped off in the cold and moist air.
Nowadays I sow seeds in April which produces healthy young plants that romp away and are
far superior to my earlier efforts. Although I save a lot of my own seed from the garden I
still enjoy growing a few new varieties each year. Last year I grew Verbena Bonariensis
and Cleomes for the first time ever and was delighted with both varieties. I also managed
to save seed from both types for this year..
Make sure unused potting compost from last year is
discarded onto borders or the compost heap and your fresh supply is at room temperature
before sowing seeds. Seed trays and pots should be washed and sowing instructions on the
seed packets carefully followed, as all seeds have different cultural requirements. After
sowing seeds and watering them if required, place the trays in clear polythene bags to
keep them warm and humid. I find that freezer bags are ideal and can be labelled too. I`m
sometimes a little impatient and put seed trays in the warmth of the airing cupboard to
hurry them along, but a conservatory, greenhouse or warm window sill will do as well. Keep
an eye on the weather and cover the seed trays with newspaper or horticultural fleece if a
frost is expected. Once the seeds have reached managable size, and before they get root
bound or a tangled mass, prick them out into bigger pots or plugs, taking care not to
damage the roots. Keep young plants watered, warm and fed, much like children, and if
treated with care will quickly grow strong and healthy.
Lawns
 Continue raking out the dead stuff and moss,
either with a lawn rake or an electric scarifier. If you have suffered with lawn
subsidence and have a few bumps or hollows, now is the time to repair them, before the
seasons growth starts. Cut out the square of lawn surrounding the part to be repaired,
then either level off a mound or fill in the hollow with soil, finally replacing the turf
and watering it in. Apply `Weed and feed` this month for a super,
strong lawn, but take care to follow instructions meticulously if you have pets.
Herbaceous and shrub borders
Continue weeding, pruning and tidying up any straggly or
frost-blackened shrubs and rake over the compost to give it a fresher look. If there are
any perennials starting to come up, such as Delphiniums or Phlox, you could put supports
in place now, so they can start to grow through them. I use the metal ones that can be
raised higher as the plants grow. I have also placed little wigwams of canes tied at the
top over new shoots coming through, so my dogs don`t mow them down. Take care not to
disturb any seedlings that may have self-sown from last year. Any that are in the way may
be potted up, or moved.
Trees and shrubs
 Most trees and shrubs have started into growth now
and the blossom is glorious. Watch out for an early invasion of aphids in a warm spell.
They will very quickly inhabit tender new shoots of shrubs, but be very careful not to
kill off any ladybirds if you are using a spray to eliminate them. I have a couple of
shrubs that regularly have the tips eaten by tiny aphids, but they do regenerate if
left untreated
Wildlife
 The birds are so busy and noisy now and the
blackbirds are busy turfing out the soil looking for worms - what a mess they make..
I usually stop feeding the birds about now as there are usually plenty of bugs for them to
feed on, which is healthier for them and their imminent young. Take care when clearing out
your pond, that you don`t disturb any mating frogs or newly laid spawn.
Plug plants
Garden centres and supermarkets have been selling trays of
plug plants since the first week in February. April is still early to buy them but make
sure they are potted up into bigger pots straight away, so the roots don`t get entwined
and pot-bound. Keep them in as light a situation as you can, making sure, too that they
have warmth, so they don`t dampen off. Have a look in magazines or newspapers for
plug plant offers..
Some favourite RHS flower shows
(Dates taken from their website)
| RHS Plant Roadshow at Bournemouth |
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11 - 13 April 2003 |
| The Spring Gardening Show Malvern |
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9 - 11 May 2003 |
| Hampton Court Palace Flower Show |
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8 - 13 July 2003 |
Charity Gala Preview of the
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show |
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7 July 2003 |
| Malvern Autumn Garden & Country Show |
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27 - 28 Sept 2003 |
| RHS London Flower Shows |
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Monthly |
|
Wisley Shows |
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|
April, June and August |
And some places to visit...
www.edenproject.com 
The
living theatre of plants and people
The Eden Project is a gateway into the world of plants and people. A meeting place for
all to discover how we depend on plants and how we can help to manage and conserve them
for our mutual survival.
Kew Gardens two locations:-
http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/
Tel: 020 8332 5655 (24 hr)
Fax: 020 8332 5197Royal Botanic Gardens
Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 3AB |
Tel: 01444 894066 (24 hr)
Fax: 01444 894069 Royal Botanic Gardens
Wakehurst Place
Ardingly
Nr Haywards Heath
West Sussex
RH17 6TN |
The National Botanic Gardens of Scotland comprise:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Scotland's Premier Garden
Benmore Botanic
Garden, Argyll
Argyll's Magnificent Mountainside Garden
Dawyck Botanic
Garden, Borders
Wonderful Woodland Garden
Logan Botanic
Garden, Galloway
Scotland's Most Exotic Garden
 The National Botanic Garden of Wales
www.gardenofwales.org.uk
The star attraction here is the 91 metre long domed glasshouse, that
houses landscapes normally found in the Mediterranean. This would be a super place to
visit on a chilly day...
Keep the e-mails with
your gardening problems coming
Have a look at previous
editions of Gardener`s Diary
Some websites of interest to gardeners:-
www.alantitchmarsh.co.uk
Alan Titchmarsh MBE, TV gardener, writer, broadcaster and thoroughly nice person.
Just a few choice words to describe the peoples` favourite TV gardener. See his
website....
 Thompson and Morgan:
A growing
resource for gardeners worldwide. The site includes the international online seed
catalogues, the young plants catalogue (UK only), the wholesale seeds catalogue, together
with the award winning Germination Times and a host of other useful information.
www.carryongardening.co.uk
 Gardening is an important part of many people's lives. You don't have to
give up gardening because of accident or illness, the onset of disability or the problems
associated with growing older. The information on their website is designed to provide you
with the information to Carry on Gardening.
Carry on
Gardening was initiated by the horticultural charity Thrive
and is funded by the National Lottery Charities
Board. It brings together information on easy ways of gardening gathered over 23
years by Thrive and research carried out since the early 1970s by Mary Marlborough Centre,
Oxford, on tools and equipment for disabled and older people.
The founder
of www.maple-landscapes.com
is my eldest son.. give him a call if you live in the Leicester area of the UK and have
need of his services..
Good reading:-
"The Yellow Book" contains information of
all Gardens of England and Wales open for charity, and can be bought priced £5 from
National Gardens Scheme www.ngs.org.uk
National Trust Gardens Handbook is £6.99 and
the new edition is out in May Telephone 01394 389 950 or see their website www.nationaltrust.org.uk
RHS Garden Finder is £12.99 from Dorling
Kindersley www.dk.com
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