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April is normally the month for finishing the winter works off in the garden but one of the coldest April’s since the 1960’s put and end to that.

So a lot of May will be catching up on these tasks. This will be on top of normal Mays work. It’s pretty obvious that we are going to have a massive heat wave during this month! That said I also can’t remember a April being this dry!

Many jobs of the pruning jobs I enjoy doing in April, pruning back of silver leaved plants, penstemons carypteris, I haven’t even started with the nights being so cold. I just feel that with these low temperatures, it would be a little bit dangerous to remove the older wood and then exposing the new soft growth to jacks harsh breathe.

Planting is still continuing at a mad pace within the garden. I would like to say it was all done but we are no where near yet! Planting in these dry conditions can be tricky, sprinklers are helping a lot to ensure the soil is damp enough to plant in. Also the 30 tonnes of progrow we have spread around the garden over this winter makes a huge difference to the dampness within the soil.

In most years I would have a few roses in flower but even the ever reliable Louis xiv hasn’t even opened one of its darkest red flowers when I visited my old garden this week. I think it will be another week at least.

Tasks for May in the garden

• Making seed trays, an excellent job for a bank holiday bank holiday! See here how me and my youngest built some out of pallets last year!
• Treating rose leaf diseases, please click here
• cutting back penstemons is another job I need to crack on with, it’s an easy job, please click here
• Funny enough, was talking to my Assistant, Katie, about tying in the new growth on the climbers next week, more info, please click here
• One of the most important jobs you do in the garden is work out what’s working and what’s not! Not an easy thing to do, please click here
• Lastly gardens not all serous stuff, it can be fun too! Playing around with broken pots and alpines can be fun!! Please click here

Well that’s about it for this month, I hope you will find the tips useful for using in your own garden. Please check back soon and I will have new step by step guides of the many tasks I shall be doing in the gardens this month

Until then, may your weeds wither and die whilst your plants prosper and grow!

Thomas