April brings the first warm rays of sunshine and that means: time to get your garden ready for summer! Enjoy flowering plants, a fresh lawn and the start of your vegetable garden. Here you can read what you can do this month.
Garden Products in the Spotlight
Acers (Japanese maple): Brings beautiful shades of red and graceful shapes to your garden.
Ornamental grasses: Pampas grass and bottlebrush grass provide a playful effect.
Ceanothus (American lilac): Blue flowering shrub that attracts butterflies.
Lavender on trunk: Compact and fragrant, ideal for pots and borders.
Dahlias and gladioli: Summer bloomers that you can plant now for a colourful season.
What Can You Do This Month?
Planting and Sowing
- Loosen the soil and remove weeds for a good start.
- Plant ornamental grasses, such as pampas grass and fountain grass, for a natural look.
- Plant acers in a sheltered spot to let their beautiful leaves shine.
- End of April: plant summer bulbs such as dahlias, gladioli and begonias.
- Sow annual summer flowers in pots and borders.
- Mark flower bulbs in the ground to protect them from damage.
- Sow spinach, radishes and lettuce directly in the open ground.
- Plant strawberries, start tomatoes and peppers indoors or in the greenhouse, and plant special potatoes.
Maintenance
- Weeding! Start in the most visible places and work systematically.
- Stain fences, garden sheds and furniture for a fresh look.
- Remove green deposits from garden furniture and paving.
- Fertilize hedges and perennials for strong growth.
- Give new plantings extra water, especially during droughts.
Lawn care
- Scarify and fertilize the lawn for healthy growth.
- Re-seed bare spots and fill in holes.
- Apply an edging to keep the lawn neat.
Pruning in April
Shrubs
- Fuchsia: Prune away all frost-damaged and dead branches in April. Cut to just above a healthy bud for a compact shape.
- Heather: After flowering, lightly cut back the faded flowers. Do not prune into the old wood.
- Ilex (holly): Pruning is optional now; light shaping can be done in April, but preferably after the longest day for good growth.
- Laurel: In April you can carefully prune topiary. Cut back shoots that are too long.
- Skimmia: After flowering, you can prune faded flowers and, if necessary, correct the shape.
- Hebe: Light pruning possible after flowering, but avoid hard pruning.
- Buddleja (butterfly bush): Can now be pruned back hard to 30–50 cm above the ground for rich flowering in summer.
Perennials and ornamental grasses
- Lavender: Cut off old flowers and a small piece of leaf green for bushy growth. Not down to the wood.
- Verbena (iron hardy): Cut back dead stems to the base as soon as new growth appears.
- Carex (sedge): Remove dead or unsightly leaves in April, possibly down to just above the ground in strong species.
Climbing plants
- Ivy (Hedera): You can prune it back well in April to keep it within limits.
- Jasmine (e.g. winter jasmine): Prune back old and tangled branches after flowering to encourage rejuvenation.
Tree/shrub with fast growth
- Eucalyptus: Young plants can be cut back in April to maintain a nice shrub shape. Be careful with older specimens; then only cut back light branches.
Small Jobs
- Check potted plants for growing space and repot if necessary.
- Wait to put container plants outside because of possible frost.
- Get a rain barrel to save water.
- Give outdoor plants organic fertilizer and houseplant food.
- Leave leaf piles for hedgehogs that are still hibernating.
- Check pond pumps and filters and remove dead plants.
- Dig over the vegetable garden, but not too deeply to protect soil life.
- Knot willows before mid-April.
With these tasks you will ensure a beautiful, blooming garden that you can enjoy all spring long!
