Local Life - Wigan - April 2019

82 Gardening
Award Winner
Attention all fair weather
gardeners!
by Angie Barker
April is the month when you can almost hear the
buds opening and leaves unfurling on the plants
and trees in your garden. So if you have not ventured
outside in your garden since the onset of winter –
then now is your last opportunity to get the garden
into shape for the summer months. There is an
incredible surge of growth in the garden at this time
of year - warmer, longer days coupled with rain is
guaranteed to kick start your garden into life so get
outside at every opportunity. I guarantee you will
feel good and be enthused with thoughts of summer
months to come - even Hubby is getting giddy at the
thought of summer evenings spent on the decking
with a glass of white wine - or two!
Giving the garden a good tidy up will immediately
give it a makeover and it will look a lot better - and
make you feel better. So if you are looking at your
garden and don’t know where to start, try the
following tips for your instant makeover:
• Pick up the last of the winter debris, leaves and
twigs which have fallen onto borders and lawns
and cut back and tidy dead perennial leaves to
reveal new growth
• Prune out frost damaged shoots and stems
• The taller grasses such as Miscanthus sinensis
will have started growing now so if you haven’t
already trimmed away last years dead stalks, this
is your last chance!
• Give the lawn a hair cut and tidy up the edges to
give a crisp finish
• Mulch your borders with compost or bark
chippings to give them an instant lift
• Plug any gaps in borders with hardy summer
flowering perennials. Rudbeckias, Astrantias and
hardy Geraniums are all lovely and require little
maintenance. Try Geranium ‘Rozanne’ in a sunny
border and Geranium phaeum in a shady spot
Be aware that frost is still around at night time so
whilst the garden centres will be tempting you to
splash out on summer bedding already, remember
that anything tender will need protection until well
in to May.
So get your skates on - Hubby has the wine chilling
already!
Angie is a qualified
award-winning garden
designer who will
plan your garden to
your needs from start
to finish, supplying
reputable contractors
and the ideal plants.
Call Angie now for your free consultation!
Angie Barker Dip GD
(Inst GD) BA (Hons)
Garden Design For All Seasons
Tel: 01942 522 405
Mob: 07857 008 383
Award Winner
www.angiebarker.co.uk