THE GARDEN

All plants need a feed at this time of the year, especially climbers such as clematis and honeysuckle, which put on phenomenal amounts of new growth. A slow release plant food such as Miracle-Gro Shake & Feed is ideal as it will gradually feed your plants for up to three months with balanced nutrients that encourage strong leaf growth with plenty of flowering potential.

Cut back stems of spring flowering shrubs such as forsythia and winter jasmine so they produce a fresh batch of flowering wands for next year's display.

Aphid colonies can ruin plants for a whole season if left to distort and harm growth. Lupins, pansies sweet peas and roses are most susceptible to these sap-sucking pests so inspect your plants regularly and spray with BugClear or BugClear Gun! As soon as an infestation is noticed. Plant up summer flowering bulbs and corms such as gladioli, acidanthera, galtonia and tigridia. If normal gladioli are too tall for your windy garden and staking is beyond you, think about the smaller Nanus group that have dainty blooms on stems about 30cm (12") tall. Gladioli and most other summer flowering bulbs prefer well-drained soil and most gardeners will improve their survival chances by planting the corms on a bed of sharp grit or sand placed at the bottom of the planting hole.

Towards the end of the month plant up dormant dahlia tubers in soil that has been enriched with plenty of organic matter such as well-rotted garden compost or Levington Soil Conditioner & Mulch. It will take a few weeks for the new shoots to emerge and these must be protected from any late frosts in May and from slugs. Sprinkle the soil with SlugClear Advanced Pellets at the recommended rate of just 1.5 grammes to the square metre. New patented technology provides pellets which will kill slugs and snails yet contain 50% less chemical than traditional pellets. The pieces of chemical are broken down into smaller particles giving better distribution throughout the pellet and increasing the chance of a slug eating a lethal dose.

Dahlia varieties that impressed me in Aylett's trial field in St Albans last year included pink waterlily 'Pearl Heemsteed', orange semi-cactus 'Ruskin Marigold' and the dramatic yellow base and red tips to the semi-cactus 'Kenera Sunset'. If you buy rooted cuttings keep them protected from frosts in a cold frame and plant out into the garden at the end of May.

All dahlias are hungry and thirsty beauties that appreciate regular watering and a feed every fortnight with a liquid plant food such as Tomorite or Miracle-Gro Outdoor Plant Food.

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FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

VEGETABLES
You should buy plenty of different vegetable seeds for sowing in April. Clear the area with a weedkiller such as Weedol or Weedol Gun! which allows sowing immediately after the treatment is dry. Start to sow short rows of salad crops, such as lettuce, radish, beetroot and spring onions.

At the same time find space for early carrots, leeks, broad beans, cabbage, cauliflower and maincrop peas. All seedlings are vulnerable to slug attack, and a light sprinkling of SlugClear Advanced Pellets will protect your investment. Also watch out for flea beetle damage on the emerging leaves of cabbage seedlings. Attack by these hopping pests is seen as tiny holes drilled into the leaves. When seen, spray with a bifenthrin product that is recommended for use on brassicas.

Planting of maincrop potatoes should be completed during April.

On the kitchen window sill or in the greenhouse, if you have one, sow seeds of herbs such as parsley, coriander and rocket plus tender vegetables such as calabrese and tomatoes. Use a good general purpose compost such as Levington Multi-Purpose and transplant into trays as soon as they are large enough to handle easily. When moving the seedlings to larger quarters, see they have enough room to develop into sturdy plants.

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FRUIT
Strawberries will be developing new leaves which are soft, tender and an ideal home to aphids. Control these sap sucking insects as soon as you notice them with a spray of BugClear or the ready-to-use BugClear Gun! Hard frosts can damage the open blooms of strawberries preventing them from turning into fruit. When your fruit is in flower cover them with newspapers on frosty nights to reduce damage.

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IN THE GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY

Transplant seedlings of tender bedding plants to make sure they have enough room to develop a good root ball and sturdy stems. Use Miracle-Gro Plant & Gro Compost or Levington Potting Compost as both are rich in nutrients for strong, healthy plants.

If you are playing catch-up in the bedding department, this is the last month for sowing tender plants that will flower this summer. French marigolds, impatiens (Busy Lizzies) petunias, phlox and zinnias should be sown as early as possible in trays of Levington Seed & Cutting compost so they germinate in quick order.

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THE LAWN

Some men love their lawn, bestowing undying devotion to every blade of grass. They spend hours every weekend digging out weeds, spiking and top dressing to ensure a perfectly level surface that is cut within an inch of its life.

Most of us ordinary gardeners are very happy with a decent looking lawn for family and friends that demands as little work as possible. And with the help of some simply applied lawn treatments we can all have a great looking lawn without too much effort.

Regular mowing is a vital part of lawn care. A quick whiz with a sharp and well-adjusted mower only takes a few minutes if you do the job every week. Mowing as often as you are able will encourage the fine grasses and allow the grass enough energy to thicken up. The trick is not to cut the lawn too short. This is not easy if you have a hover mower, but others do have a height adjustment that will allow you to leave the grass around 3cm (1") long for spring. A lawn cut much shorter than this allows the easy establishment of broad-leaved weeds such as dandelion and daisies.

To get the lawn looking great, apply a multi-purpose lawn treatment that saves time and does three jobs at once. One simple application of EverGreen Complete will control any moss that has developed over winter, kill the broad-leaved weeds that are ready to invade your space and feed the grass so that it is thick and green for several weeks. Apply the treatment 2-3 days after mowing and leave a similar time after application before mowing again. If no rainfall occurs within 2 days of application then water in.

With the soil warming up and the promise of regular showers, April is a great time to sow new areas of lawn. Level and firm the surface after removing weed roots and large stones. Then sow a quality grass seed such as EverGreen. There are various types to choose from depending on the lawn that is best for you and your family. You can find blends of different varieties of grasses for shady areas, for fine lawns and for hard-wearing family grass.

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ALWAYS READ THE LABEL. USE PESTICIDES SAFELY
BugClear™ and BugClear Gun!™ contain bifenthrin. FungusClear™ and FungusClear Gun!™ contain penconazole. RoundupGC, Roundup Ultra 3000, Roundup Tough Weedkiller Ready to Use and Tumbleweed Original Extra Strong Gel contain glyphosate. Roseclear® 2 contains bupirimate, pirimicarb and triforine. RoseClear® Gun!™ contains bifenthrin and flutriafol. SlugClear™ Mini Pellets contain metaldehyde. Spotless® contains carbendazim. Verdone® Extra contains fluroxypyr, clopyralid and MCPA. Weedol® contains diquat and paraquat. Weedol® Gun!™ contains diquat.

®, ™, Miracle-Gro, and Scotts are trade marks of The Scotts Company or its affiliates. Roundup is the registered Trade Mark of Monsanto Company.

GARDENING INFORMATION FROM The Scotts Company (UK) Limited

WRITTEN BY JOHN CLOWES

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