In the Garden

April is a great time to give your lawn some attention. Rake out thatch and moss from your lawn and then fork over to improve drainage. Apply a lawn fertiliser and repair any bare patches.

Mulch beds and borders to lock in moisture and prevent weeds from growing.

Scrape off the top few centimetres of compost on patio pots and containers and top dress with fresh compost.

In the Borders

Shrubs may have succumbed to some frost damage over winter. Prune back damaged shoots to healthy growth once the risk of frost has passed.

Clumps of herbaceous perennials like hardy geraniums and hostas can be lifted and divided to make more plants for free.

Hydrangeas can be pruned back now to a healthy shoot.

The soil is warming up in April, so hardy annals like love-in-a-mist, cornflowers, poppies, and native wildflowers can be sown directly into prepared soil.

As daffodils finish flowering, dead head the flowers to prevent bulbs putting energy into producing seeds but leave the foliage to die back naturally.

In the Veg Beds

As the soil is warming up, April is a good time to direct sow outside seeds of carrots, peas, beetroot, radishes, and salads.

Set onions and potatoes outside.

In the Fruit Cage

Mulch around fruit trees with well-rotted manure and check any tree ties are secure.

In the Greenhouse

Prick out and pot on seedlings when the first set of real leaves appear.

Plant out autumn sown sweet peas this month and tie them in to a support to get them going. If you did not sow any in autumn, direct sow where they are to flower.