April Notes from the Studio
An audio tour of the plots this month with what to do on yours.
Come on a turn about the plots with me and I’ll tell you what I’ve been doing this month in the gardens in my audio postcard.
What to do in April
Seed sowing, preparing the ground, compost and green manures.
Planting Perennials.
April is a great month for planting, with warm soil and showers, plants are quick to establish, root and grow away. Top tip is not to move or plant anything that is flowering - it will concentrate on making seed rather than root. Better to plant months before or just after flowering.
Cutting back Perennials
Like edging paths and lawn, this is one of those jobs that immediately refreshes your space and looks much more than the sum of its effort. I am still weeding the long border here, but as I weed, lift and divide plants, I am also cutting down last year’s stems and leaves that protected the grasses and perennials last winter to reveal the fresh new growth.
Sowing Perennials
The future of cut flower growing is in perennials - returning year after year to flower with little attention or resources. Now I love sowing seeds as much as the next grower, but they take protection, watering and a lot of time. I am sowing echinacea, eryngium, agastache and achillea. These are all first year flowering plants, but will be better in their second year onwards. Sow for future flowers (a perennial for every month).
Sowing Half Hardy Annuals
Well I have to grow some! These are not hardy to the cold or frost so are grown undercover in April. Need to know how to grow without a greenhouse? Top tips here. Half hardy annuals that I love are nicotiana, cosmos and multi headed sunflowers. I start planting these out in sheltered positions in mid May giving them 6 weeks to grow protected from the frosts.
Pricking out seeds already sown
One of my favourite garden tasks; in the polytunnel with a podcast or audio book (spoken word for weeding but music for flower arranging), repotting seedlings with a couple of leaves into trays of compost. I make my own, a mix of homemade compost and loam (the rotted down lawn edges of grass make great soil).
Planting sweet peas
How to germinate and grow these here. Plant them 6” apart in rich compost and tie into a hazel pole or jute netting to scramble up.
Pot up Dahlias
If you have bought new tubers or saved your own last autumn, get them potted up into 2/3L pots of compost to sprout. I water very occasionally to prevent rotting but keeping the pot damp. Check on these if in a hot tunnel or greenhouse. They’ll get growing early and plant these out into position in mid May or later. (Full 101 on Growing Dahlias and all the hard lessons I’ve learnt here)
Green Manures
If you’ve cleared ground but don’t have anything to plant out yet, sow some green manures. These are great fast growing plants that bring nutrients up, open up the soil and add organic matter. They also activate the soil biology if the ground has been bare by making food. I cover ground with them, interplant and even cut them for flowers! Want to know more about these?
Make a Liquid Feed
With compost, fresh manure, nettles and comfrey. Soak in a bucket of water for a few weeks then spray on your plants monthly, if not more often until midsummer
Christmas Forced Bulbs
These have been outside the last few months, with the leaves feeding the bulbs. I can’t tell which are which now but I know paper whites are not hardy so I’m going to save all the bulbs in a paper bag and replant for next winter.
Harvesting
Shrubs - Amelanchier, chaenomeles, forsythia, physocarypus, lonicera tatarica, eucalyptus.
Perennials - Hellebores, artichoke leaves, euphorbia, polyanthus, wallflowers, epimedium.
Bulbs - Leucojum, narcissus (so many now), muscari, tulips, fritillaria persica.
Corms - Ranunculus & anemones
Annuals - Iceland poppies (undercover)
Please like this post and even better hit reply and tell me what you are doing this month in your garden. Please share this newsletter with anyone that might like it.
Go on. Hit the like button. It’s just there…
I write about, teach and design productive and sustainable gardens. For subscriber only posts on all the above and inspirational ideas to go out and do the same in your own space, join me as a paid subscriber.
For local subscribers, in Saffron Walden, Cambridge or Essex, or further afield, join me on my ‘Something for the Weekend’ newsletters for in person courses and wedding flowers.
I agree a strong base of perennials eases the stress of growing annuals. In my second year micro-farming I’m focusing on garden aesthetics and focal points such as adding a bench, seating area and arch- all of which will be surrounded by perennials and interspersed with annuals. (I love your photos)
Do paper whites come back next year? I w read conflicting answers on this and wasn’t sure whether to keep or not 💛