April Gardening Guide

There’s a beeping in my garden and I think my neighbour is trying to drive me mad.

I don’t know the source of the beeping, all I know is that it’s loudest around two thirds along the garden right next to the fence. It happens every 30 seconds and is continually breaking my peaceful concentration.

You’ll have heard many people speak about how gardening can be quite meditative, a ‘mindful’ activity where you get lost in the task and can blank out other thoughts. At any one time I have around 16 different thoughts simultaneously in my mind which can include a random song I heard 4 hours ago, a pattern or colour palette, the repetition of a single word, a friend I’ve been thinking of, all the way through to the list of things I’ve yet to get completed that day. Safe to say my head is a loud and busy place a lot of the time.

Gardening has always been one of those tasks that helps me chill out. Having to focus on the job at hand whilst leaving a little space in my mind means I can quietly work through thoughts and feelings in the small corner that’s left unoccupied.

This beep is ruining my flow. Every 30 seconds I’m being pulled out of my thoughts for a completely unknown reason. So how do I solve this? Do I wait until I know the neighbours have gone out, get on a step ladder and secretly peer over the fence to see if I can spot the offending object? Do I loudly complain about the source of this mysterious beeping when they’re in the garden in the hope they get the hint and remove it? Or do I treat this as some kind of Karate Kid mental training task of learning to maintain focus regardless of outside influences?

Pear blossom

 I’ve spent much of the long weekend in the garden, being the first substantial bit of gardening I’ve done since October last year. With a short border being revised, planted as well as mulched and a new border being dug and prepared I feel quite accomplished and hopeful for the year head. Plenty of seeds have been sown whilst the tomato seedlings have had their first sunbathing sessions in the open air.

If the sunshine has got you in the mood to get out into the garden this weekend and you don’t have a mysterious beep out there, here are some tasks you can be getting on with…

Get ready for the aquilegias

Aquilegias are a very easy to grow, hardy perennial that comes in all colours. Whether your garden colour scheme is white, pink, yellow, purple, black, blue and many things in between, there will be an aquilegia that suits you. My own garden is very much cottage garden meets straight lines meets hobbitcore and aquilegias fit beautifully in there for the form, the colour and the hardiness. I like a plant that doesn’t need to be babysat.

Sow your pumpkins and squashes

I’m a big fan of anything autumnal, and pumpkins are a prime example. Now’s the time to start sowing your pumpkin seeds so that you get a good harvest later in the year. I love having a variety of types from small to large to display and later to eat. After such a dire year in 2024 (as in, I harvested ZERO pumpkins or squash) I’ve sown a few extras just as insurance. When sowing, plant the seed on it’s side and follow the instructions provided with the seed packet.

Prune your rosemary

I love using rosemary in garden designs as it’s such a good evergreen for winter structure and is also edible – what’s not to love. Giving your rosemary a prune in spring will ensure plenty of fresh shoots to use in cooking and beverages for the summer ahead.

Flowering rosemary

 Tie in clematis

As new shoots are blasting off, make sure you keep your clematis tied in and secure. You don’t need to strangle them by any means, just ensure they’re nice and secure and know which direction they’re meant to be growing in.

Harden off plants before planting out

You’ll have seen lots of bedding plants and tender annuals in garden centres by now. We are still a couple of weeks away from our ‘last frost’ date in Lincolnshire so be careful with them. A lot of time when you buy such plants they will have been kept under cover until you purchase them so lobbing them straight out into your garden can end up damaging them. Leave them in a sheltered spot for a week so they can get acclimatised before planting out.

Plant maincrop potatoes

Now the soil has started to warm up a bit, it’s a good time to plant your main crop potatoes. You’ll be able to buy seed potatoes from most garden centres at the moment and you can then keep a hold of them for a couple of weeks if you’re not quite ready to plant. If you’re lucky, you might even be able to pick some up in the sale.

I’ve taken my own advice today, by taking advantage of this morning’s sunshine to write this months gardening guide in my own garden. With the cats running around, pear blossom floating down and the scent of the flowering currant, it’s quite the idyllic scene. I won’t tell you about the half laid paving, the unorganised plastic pots, the half dug new border or the beep as that taints the scene a little. Enjoy the sunshine when you can, even if it’s just a chair plonked in the middle of your grass. And remember, if you’re at a loss of how to make the most of your garden, you can always give me a shout.