Gardening jobs...April

I've jumped the gun for April's gardening jobs. This is because this weekend is the four day Easter bank holiday. Traditionally this is seen as the start of the gardening season despite the fact that Easter can be nearly a month difference in dates from year to year. This year has not been a good start for gardeners with late, heavy snow and the resulting flooded ground. Don't be disheartened as gardens do recover so put in some hard work when you can.

Sow a summer display – You could act fast and sow your own sweet peas or buy some plug plants. Plant them up in a container with some support either from canes or a metal frame to grow up. Inside you can start off sunflowers by sowing in pots before planting out when they reach around 30cm tall.

Harvest – Early varieties of rhubarb will be ready to eat this month. Never pull more than half of the stalks at one time and always pick the best stalks.

Split hostas – You either love or hate hostas purely on the basis if slugs eat yours or not! We have number of hostas which seem to survive each year down to the local, hungry bird population. Once they start to show vigorous growth this month it is the best time to split them. It will reinvigorate the existing plant and help produce a number of new plants.

Sort bare patches in the lawn – Once the ground has warmed up a bit and you have managed to get the grass mowed sort out the bare patches. An easy way to do this is by raking up the bare soil, giving it a water and then scattering the seeds on it. Cover the patches with some netting otherwise you will just be feeding the local birds!

Dead head daffodils – I said to do this last month but the weather has put behind many daffodil displays. By taking off the head it means no seed head can develop and all the energy can go back into the plant for a great display next year.

Sort out your water butts – Make the most of April showers by collecting it in water butts for use in dry periods. Check that the butt has no odd smells coming from it. If does it it could be rotting leaves or a dead animal. Also check that nothing is blocking water going through the tap.

Are you planning on getting in the garden this Easter? What work will you be doing?