This week was pretty confusing: at one point I didn’t know if it was snow, sleet, cherry blossom or ash from a fire landing on me. Or all four. I did, however, know when the cold wind was blowing and when the sun went in!
Despite the signs and wonders of spring, the growing season is far from launched: we are likely to have more frosts and, believe it or not, we may be close to a dry spell that could stunt the spring growth in newly planted trees and shrubs. I need to be able to get away from designing gardens in Hampshire and jump onto watering newly planted trees and shrubs.
If nothing else this month, keep a careful eye on the rainfall and be prepared to do some chilly watering of plants if needed. Other tasks include:
• Move evergreens: this is the best time of year to move or plant evergreens. Avoid waterlogged or parched soils.
• Divide herbaceous perennials: Phlox, daylilies and Hosta are all best divided now.
• Deadhead daffodils: not a task to set yourself if you have hundreds of them! Otherwise, just leave them be, allowing photosynthesis to nourish the bulbs and cutting them back in June.
• Lawn repairs: now the frosts are receding, seed can be bought online and sown on patches that have become worn. Remember to prepare the ground by scraping off any unwanted weeds or worn grass and giving the area a good rake over. Add a sprinkling of compost and try to keep hungry birds away.
• Prune shrubs after they have flowered: Forsythia and Chaenomeles fall into this category. Hardy Fuchsia can be cut back to healthy buds.
• Pond plants: now is the time to get at the water lilies and marginal plants, to divide them into smaller clumps in order to avoid them choking the life out of a pond.
• Wildlife: if you are in the mood for clearing, cutting and composting, please be aware that this is the time of year when much of the local wildlife will be making their nesting homes. Avoid hedge cutting and be attentive when you are tidying up sheltered corners of the garden. You can help hedgehogs move around from garden to garden by making small gaps at the base of fences.
• Composting and mulching: add compost or well-rotted manure to borders and around the bases of trees and shrubs: this will help keep the moisture in, the weeds off and give a slow release of nutrients.
• Plant autumn flowering bulbs and corms: why not invest in a bit of summer joy? Order and plant Gladiolus (Gladioli), Eucomis (pineapple flower), and Galtonia canadensis (summer hyacinth). They will really add some dramatic colour and shape to your borders.
The bird activity and bird song has noticeably picked up in recent weeks: my feeders are getting the constant attention of domestic birdlife. Go on – give them a treat yourself! For less than half the price of a cup of coffee you can buy a suet block (ideal for fledglings) and have countless hours of fun watching them sort out their pecking order.
Maybe a bit cheerier than watching us humans doing the same thing?