April garden advice and maintenance

General gardening

• Plant trees and shrubs - improve the soil with tree and shrub compost
• Plant summer flowering herbaceous plants
• Where aphids become a problem on roses and other plants, spray with an insecticide such as Provado Ultimate Bug Killer
• Feed hungry shrubs and roses with something such as Organic Chicken Manure Pellets, Toprose or Miracle-Gro Rose Plus
• Keep weeds under control and continue to mulch the garden with well rotted manure and compost. Lightly fork over borders to remove weeds, but take care not to damage any emerging herbaceous plants
• Remove faded flowers on bulbs. Wait until the leaves of daffodils and other spring flowering bulbs have gone brown before you cut them off
• Plant summer flowering bulbs and tubers such as dahlias
• Protect fruit blossom from late frosts
• Tie in climbing and rambling roses. Spray roses if necessary to control pests and diseases with Multirose 3-in-1 or Roseclear
• Sow hardy annuals and herb seeds
• Increase the water given to houseplants. Repot houseplants where necessary
• Plant strawberries

Lawn care

• Over seed sparse areas of lawn
• Lay a lawn from turf and leave completely unused for the first week
• Avoid using new lawns heavily in their first season
• Use Lawn Sand or a Complete Feed and Moss Killer to get rid of moss on damp, poorly drained lawns
• Fertilise the lawn or use a combined weed and feed product such as Evergreen Complete 4-in-1. Mow it as often as required

In the greenhouse

• Plant Tomatoes, Aubergines and Peppers in unheated greenhouses. Remember to cover them with horticultural fleece on cold nights
• Sow half-hardy bedding plants in trays. When the seedlings are large enough hand prick them out into individual pots or space out in seed trays
• Plant up hanging baskets with fuchsias and tender perennials and hang them in the greenhouse to develop
• Plant begonia tubers in the greenhouse. Make sure they are planted with the concave surface uppermost and just cover with compost. Pot on as the plants grow

Wildlife gardening

• Avoid chunky foods that could choke young fledglings i.e. whole peanuts
• Keep the bird bath topped up and clean
• Sow or plant a wildflower meadow, and mow newly established meadows
• Hang a bee nesting box
• Top up bird feeders and put out food on the ground and bird table
• Plant annuals and perennials to attract insects
• Put out log, twig and/or rock piles to create shelter for wildlife