Garden Diary

April Garden Notes

Easter is on the horizon and longer days herald the start of spring. As the sun warms the soil, spring bulbs such as daffodils, narcissi, iris and even early tulips will be opening up to brighten the garden. On sunny days fragrant shrubs such as the Viburnum will be wafting perfume all around the garden. It’s time to tidy up beds and borders and to make sure weeds don’t take hold.

Beds and Borders . . .

Nothing is more welcome in the spring garden than the bright clean yellow colours of miniature daffodils and the multi-coloured displays from modern hyacinths.

To ensure your display looks good for the longest time, pick off all the faded flower heads as the petals wilt, so the plant doesn’t spend all its energy creating seed heads. While these bulbs are in leaf you should feed them so they can regenerate new flower buds deep inside the bulbs.

Lawncare…

Its spring, so time to get the mower out. For a great summer lawn cut your grass frequently, but not too short. A weekly trim now, gradually reducing the height of cut in April, so that it gets down to its minimum length of 2-3cm.

Get your lawn into shape and apply a spring lawn feed. Choose one that will feed the grass with the added benefit of controlling moss and killing weeds. Weekly cutting will build a thick, green lawn with strong roots helps protect your lawn against heat, drought and other stresses.

Rake out any moss and repair with a good quality grass seed, we recommend Green Velvet grass seed, available from our on line shop.

Tips for a great looking lawn this summer

• Cut regular every 7 – 10 days is best this time of year
• Apply a Feed to encourage healthy growth and replace lost nutrients
• Apply a moss control, leave for 10-14 days then lightly rake out.

Does all this sound hard work? we already service many customers in your location, our service is often cheaper than doing it yourself, why not contact us for a free quotation.

Grow your Own…

April is a busy month, because seeds of most crops can be sown now. Hardy crops can be sown directly into the soil of your veg patch, while tender ones need to start their life indoors on a windowsill.

As soil temperatures warm up, its start to think about controlling slugs.

Patio Surfaces…

After cold wet winter, shaded areas of paved patios may be covered with a slimy green mould, moss and algae. It is not only unsightly, but also very slippery. You can use a pressure sprayer to jet it off, but that does destroy the surface of the paving.  Using a stiff yard brush and get scrubbing could be hard work or clear away all these green moulds, moss and algae by watering on Britons Patio Magic and the job’s done. If you need help creating a clean weed free patio to enjoy your summer garden, why not give us a call.

Garden Diary is written by John Draper of Greener Gardens, your local independent BASIS Lawn Assured specialist and past Chairman of the UK Lawncare Association.