What to do in your garden in April.

A wonderfully busy month with autumn flower and vegetable seedlings, bulbs and fruit trees. The mild days of April are ideal to plant spring flowering bulbs, sowing flower seeds like Sweet Peas, Namaqualand Daisies and Virginian Stocks.  A month to fertilise your garden and lawn for the last time as winter hibernation will inhibit growth and the feed will harden and strengthen growth before the onset of colder weather.

Flowers

• Plant spring flowering bulbs like Ranunculus, Daffodils, Hyacinths and Ixias.
• Sow flower seeds like African (Namaqualand) Daisies, Calendulas, Delphiniums, Lupins, Mesembryanthemums, Virginian Stocks and Sweet Pea seeds.
• Plant flower seedlings like Pansies, Primulas, Petunias, Primroses, Stocks, Ranunculus and Sweet Peas – as usual dig in well and add plenty of fertiliser like Talborne’s Seedling Food.
• Start feeding your winter flowering orchids such as Cymbidiums with special orchid food like Pokon Orchid Food.
• Roses need deadheading as their blooms fade.

Lawns

• An ideal time to create a new lawn using seed or grass plugs.
• You can give your lawn one last feed before the winter with Talborne’s Vita Green 5:1:5 (16) or Bio Ganic for Lawns.
• Cut back on watering your lawn.
• Bad muddy patches must be re-grassed.

Vegetables, Herbs & Fruit

• Autumn is berry planting time, so buy good, healthy plants of Raspberries, Gooseberries, Blackberries and Strawberries.
• Start planting winter vegetables like Onions, Cabbage, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, Peas, Broad Beans, Swiss Chard and Beetroot.

General Tasks

• Start feeding the birds – hang up some feeders with a variety of seeds and suet balls to attract different birds to your garden.
• Thick clumps of Day Lilies, Agapanthus, Dietes and Chive plants can be divided now and replanted into freshly composted soil.
• April is a very good month to plant shrubs, trees, roses and lawns using Vita-Gro 2:3:2.
• Keep winter and spring flowering shrubs well watered to prevent buds from dropping – especially Camellias.
• Cut back on watering and feeding your indoor plants.
• Continue mulching your beds using fallen autumn leaves or bark chips.