Wealden Times | WT170 | April 2016 | Garden supplement inside

WT Garden Supplement
in late summer - Buddleia, Caryopteris and some
Hydrangeas. Evergreen shrubs can be pruned
later in the month once the weather’s warmed up.
Leave any tender plants until early summer.
Weeds and pests
Weeding is one of those tiresome jobs that should be
tackled as soon as possible after the weeds emerge. That
way you can eradicate them before they reproduce and
start spreading about – and there lies the rub: how to
tell a weedling from a seedling. There is a good website
devoted to the subject: theseedsite.co.uk/weedlings, and
eventually you may learn the difference. But weeds
are cunning - there’s a weed in my garden that looks
just like an emerging poppy seedling that I’ve often
nurtured to flowering point. It can help if you sow
seeds in rows, because weeds are reckless vagabonds and
never grow in tidy rows, so you’ll spot which is which.
Step up the slug patrol especially around emerging
shoots. A mild wet winter makes manna for molluscs
- they will have multiplied and massed their ranks,
so prepare for battle. Also be on the lookout for the
first signs of attack from other bugs like aphids and
lily beetles – catching them before they embark on
their world domination plans (female aphids are
born pregnant and carry on popping out babies at
an alarming rate without needing to find a mate,
which is both scary and weirdly fascinating).
Feeding, Mulching
and supporting
Most shrubs could do with a little pick-me-up now, in the
form of a general purpose fertiliser. There are a confusing
number of plant feeds available and they will have
different effects on plant growth, but a general purpose
feed will have a balance of the important nutrients -
nitrogen for leafy growth, phosphorus for healthy roots
and potassium for flowers and fruit. Sprinkle – at the
recommended rate – at the base of shrubs. Perennials are
a different matter and really don’t need much feeding.
Too much nitrogen will encourage leafy growth, often at
the expense of flowers. Feed with potassium, if anything.
Plants in pots will need fertilising, as they’re growing in a
confined space and will quickly run out of nutrients. Only
feed plants in the growing season; once the summer arrives
all bar the bedding plants must concentrate on ripening
and strengthening in readiness for the autumn and winter.
Apply a generous layer of mulch to your borders
while the soil is still damp. This will prevent excess
moisture loss and help stop the weeds. If you use an
organic mulch, like manure, or spent mushroom
compost, it will gradually be incorporated into the soil
by earthworms etc and will improve the soil structure.
Support the emerging shoots of perennials before they
put on too much top growth. That way they’ll hide the
supports as they grow up through them. There’s not much
point in trussing up a limp, wind-blown bundle of stems
and hoping it’ll look gracefully well supported, trust me.
Vegetables, herbs and fruit
This is the perfect month for sowing vegetables. Direct
sowing is less time-consuming than sowing in pots to
plant out, but you will have to thin your seedlings (see
sowing section above and steel yourself). Weed regularly
and watch out for pests – tiny plants are irresistibly
dainty and delicious to every creature that crawls, flies
or hops across your plot - cat included no doubt.
Feed fruit bushes with general purpose, slow release
fertiliser to encourage good fruiting later in the summer.
Keep the beds weed-free with a layer of mulch. Herbs
will be growing strongly now and will benefit from a
good haircut to keep them looking neat with lots of fresh
new growth. This will also help delay flowering; herbs
that have flowered are (apparently) less flavoursome.
Lawn care
I feel tired now all of a sudden at the thought of all the
mowing that needs doing - and edging, and patching in,
and more mowing. It is a thankless task and too much like
housework in its repetitiveness, but - a well-looked-after
lawn with neat edges (stripes if you have to) will make the
whole garden look better. There are lots of other important
things to do with the lawn, but sadly I’ve run out of space.
The soil is warming, the sun is rising in the sky and
the April showers are providing plenty of moisture. It’s
definitely the gardening season, but even if you can’t face
doing any actual gardening, you can enjoy just going
outside and breathing it all in, celebrating the three ‘b’s
(buds, bees and birds of course). Let’s rush out there.
FreeImages.com/Aureliy Movila
FreeImages.com/Pascal Thauvin
For border designs and planting, and gardening ideas,
contact Jo on 01233 861149 www.hornbrookmanor.co.uk
13 www.wealdentimes.co.uk
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