THE CHANGING OF THE GARDEN
Shimmering white Arabis and glowing mauve Aubretia bring sheer brilliance to the rockeries along with a medley of Saxifrages. This contrasts wonderfully with the mellow snakes head blooms of Frittilaries. The same genus also includes the stately crown imperials which look effective towering above scented blue Hyacinths. Amelanchiers open their heavenly blossom together with their young pink shoots - a perfect tree for a small garden. Tulips, whilst standing proudly above Forget-Me-Nots, use their cups to defy the blustery April showers.
These conditions also cause the candlelit Magnolias to flicker as they display the most spectacular blooms of the month with their waxy flowers. These are briefly displayed on the bare branches and a mature tree of at least 25-years of age is an awesome sight. Coupled with Camellias you are spoilt for choice, especially as far as a bit of exotica is concerned.
Treesy does it
AMELANCHIERS are ideal if you want a well behaved tree that will give you immense spring and autumn interest as well as a pleasant summer backdrop to a garden.
Their spring interest compromises beautiful white or pale pink blossom with fresh bronzy pink leaves whilst their autumn display is made up of vibrant leaf colours. Surprisingly, they will make a very stunning hedge if planted 60cm apart in a sunny garden and trimmed in early summer and again lightly during the winter.
SOW seeds of hardy annuals in drifts or groups in a well prepared tilth. The easiest ones to grow are Virginia Stocks, night scented stocks, Nigellas, Calendulas, field poppies, Nasturtiums, Cornflowers and Larkspurs. Most should germinate within two to three weeks providing they are gently watered in dry spells.
Thereafter, they may require thinning out to allow their development and the thinnings can be used in other parts of the garden (except for the poppies which resent transplanting – although you could always try).
It’s time for some feedback
ERICACEOUS (acid loving) plants, properly known as Calcifuges, can be fed fortnightly with liquid acid plant food from now on. The roots of Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Pieris, Camellias and Skimmias should be given a good drench.
A lawn with weeds is a lawn in need
THIS is a good month to apply weed-killers to the lawn. In my experience, the slow release feed and weed granules are best, providing they are evenly distributed when the soil is moist and the grass is dry. If no rain falls within two days, water the lawn thoroughly with a fine spray from a hose-gun or sprinkler.
APRIL brings out the Frittilaries and species tulips along with the waxy candlelit Magnolias. Rockeries produce frenzied colour and in a woodland border we look forward to the bleeding hearts of Dicentra. We shall be sowing seeds of hardy annuals to bring a burst of natural colour to summer borders and controlling weeds.
It’s well and truly rockin!
ROCKERY plants are always at their best in April when they bounce back the bright sunshine right at you. Most of the varieties we’ve listed below are easy to grow in a sunny, open site. Here are the most popular sorts…..
1. Alyssum ‘Cloth of gold’ produces hummocks of scented bright yellow flowers over grey foliage. It spreads slowly to around 40 cm or so and these are drought tolerant.
2. Arabis ‘Snow charm’ trails over rocks and displaying masses of brilliant white blooms.
3. Mossy Saxifragas are invaluable in any rockery, with their pleasant light green leaves and profuse, dainty flowers of white, pink, red, or purple. Spreads to around 60cm.
4. Aubretias are to be seen in many gardens and come in a range of colours, although the best are undoubtedly the blues and purples. There is also a lovely variegated form.
5. Armeria maritima (Thrift, Sea pink) have neat tufts of grassy leaves and very small deep pink flowers resembling those of chives. As the name suggests, they grow wild on coastal grassy cliff tops and so are very tolerant of exposed conditions.
6. Arabis ‘Old Gold’ has very small and golden variegated leaves and small sprays of white flowers.
7. Saxifraga umbrosa (London pride) seems to be everywhere and is exceptionally easy to grow. It is probably better in a large rockery for it can be somewhat invasive. The rosettes of green leaves compliment the tiny sprays of white and pale pink florets superbly.
8. Alpine Dicentra is very invasive but makes superb ground cover when in active growth. The ferny grey leaves are the perfect foil for the small pink flowers resembling those of a miniature ‘bleeding heart’.
Tovey's Tips
Use the extra hours day length of an evening to do the less mundane jobs in the garden, such as defining self-sown plants and moving them into appropriate positions. This is a nice pleasurable job that boosts the spirits and enthusiasm.
Turn compost regularly as this rots down at its quickest at this time of year. An excellent compost activator is simply a handful of chicken manure present.
Keep on top of annual weeds by hoeing just underneath them to sever their roots during dry spells so that they can wither away. If you’ve only got time to do it when it’s wet, simply pull them out of the ground but do dispose of them.
If you grew Alliums last year, you’ll find they may well have self-seeded. The little onion-like seedlings should be left for another couple of years and then the bulblets can be transferred to desired positions.
As ever, it’s a case of showers for your flowers
APRIL will begin showery – what a surprise!!!! It should turn drier and warmer in a short time. The second week veers to chilly showery north-westerly winds but this should become disorganised as rain rotates in from the continent. Behind this there should be much warmer easterly winds (away from North Sea coasts). The emphasis in the second half of the month is on a good deal of fine weather, though with a cooling trend in the closing days.
Come what May?
MAY BRINGS forth many flowers to choose from, including Hesperis, wallflowers and Centaureas. There will also be advice on supporting herbaceous perennials and sowing hollyhocks for the 2005 display. We will be pruning early flowering shrubs too.
See you next month!
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