Gardening tips & advice for April & gardening with the kids

[Gardeners world]

A belated gardening tips this month. Apologies, been a bit unwell & very busy. Not a good combination! Managed to escape the clutches of Mayday hospital & survive!! My sincere apologies to the lady that I did not manage to deliver her quote to, trying to rebuild my flat after it burnt out & the aforementioned illness & workload have been factors. But things are on the mend & after 2 days of

sunshine, whisper it, Spring may have just sprung!

So, no excuses my city dwelling friends, time to get out in the garden & engage with our little ( or big) bit of nature.

1. Firstly, we still have to protect soft plants (olives, fruit blossoms, Jasmins) using a fleece, keeping them close to the house if in pots.

2. Give your shrubs & roses a good forked in feed of manure. If you have seed heads still on your roses ( naughty!) cut them back to the third bud at an angle with nice sharp secateurs. Too late to hard prune now.

3. Sow hardy annuals in position using a compost warmed by putting under black bags in the sunshine. Work out a colour pallete that includes your favourite colours that work well together.

4. Get your weeds under control before they start to self seed & take over. At this time of year, a Dutch hoe will get into more open borders easily, or a light forking to tease them out. For those of you unfortunate enough to have pernicious weeds like ground elder, then use an organic root weed killer. These are weeds that continue to grow from the tiniest bit of root left in the ground!

5. Tie in all your climbers, like Roses.Jasmins,Solarnums. & lightly trim if you have not managed to prune them.

6. Divide bamboos before they get too big, re-plant or give them to your friends, still not too late to divide clusters of snowdrops to give an improved show next year.

7. Time to go to work on that lawn! If you're really serious, then feed with a good lawn weed, feed & mosskiller. Feed sparingly, if over fed, this stuff will burn your lawn & then you'll need a new one anyway!

After about a week, the moss will have died back & gone brown, get out the spine rake & give it a good going over.(come on, we could all do with a bit of exercise after that winter & so called spring!) Give it a mow on the diagonal if you have a mower with a roller & then in straight lines. This will strengthen the roots.

If your lawn is beyond repair then just ask if you would like advice on laying a new one.

8. Sorry, it's a long one this time of year! Power wash your decks & patios, giving your deck a treatment when dry & your patio a sealant. If your deck is made of softwood then painting it might be a long term solution to its care & life. Hardwood decks will need treating with a good teak oil.

9. Now comes the philosophical bit! After such a horrendous period of bad weather, it's time we city dwellers got out into our gardens, parks & countryside. Wether you potter, fully engage or just sit in quiet contemplation or meditation, nature is our natural healer & we haven't had enough of it of late! If the weather persists you can always join me at The Big Calm my holistic centre in Kefalonia.

10. Kids: If you have children, there's nothing like encouraging then to plant up easy seeding flowers like nasturtiums, sweet peas, cornflowers & a packet of wild meadow seeds, as said before, good to get them collecting slugs & snails for a trip to the park! Take them to places like Wisley & Kew for a bit of inspiration, they have great educational resources, as does the wonderful Wetlands centre near Barnes for a great day out.

Finally, whilst busy as said, quite happy to help with any questions you may have & to take on any projects you may have, if patient. If not, please as always continue to use the highly recommended gardeners & landscapers on this excellent forum. There's plenty of work for good gardeners who love what they do. And to the Lady I let down, please get in contact if the work still needs doing & I will happily give you a generous consideration for what has to be done.

Very happy gardening

Nigel 07961888253

[Gardeners world]

11. Forgot to say, good time of year to add a good bark chip mulch as a weed suppressant. This will keep the weeds at bay, & make those that make it through easy to see & pull out. The bark chip will break down in around 18 months to 2 years

[philosophie]

Just wanted to say a big thank you for these tips and advice - I find them so helpful, as a novice!