Diana's Garden Centre

Garden Calendar

April

Wow, the beautiful month of April is here already! It is time for us to anticipate that our gardening pace will quicken, since we live in a mild climate. If your garden is like mine and where you live you almost never sees snow on it there are things that you can start immediately doing! The first thing I have done this April is gone to my Gardening shed and organized what I have in there and cleared out what I do not need and re-assigned my gardening tools to their proper locations! It is also a great time to check any fencing, trellises or netting you may have to ensure that they are all in a healthy state and void of any repair! Those deer will absolutely love any opportunity to have your garden delights!

You may also begin to examine your trees and shrubs before newly emerging leaves, to determine if they require pruning. If you have scruffily hedges this is a great time to trim them up nice! Remember though as I have suggested to you in March that you should not trim Birches or Maples as this time of year their sap production is very high and any cuts will make them bleed profusely and not heal. It is best to leave them until later in summer or autumn to prune them.

Please keep continuing your indoor activities such as growing seeds, tidying seedlings, maintaining good pot soil, watering and everything else that may be required!

With the continuing warmth of the weather, you may notice that your soil is beginning to thaw out. When it thaws the minimum of at least several centimeters you may start the ongoing routine of tidying up your yard by raking. Gently raking your lawn now will remove all nature's debris that has collected over our winter months.

Mid April and onwards through this month is a great time to develop borders and flower beds you may even add some fertilizer to them now. You may dig over your garden and sow wonderful vegetable crops. When the soil can be worked this is the time to transplant and plant shrubs and trees. Any bare rooted plants you have should be planted before they start to grow leaves. Anything you have grown in containers should now be planted .Give conifers some time to establish and grow their roots out a little by planting them now so that when winter comes yet again their roots be healthy and strong! You may also keep an eye out for those nasty insect pests and do what you may to remove them!