Flowers and Bedding
Many plugs and seedling are available in garden centres from January onwards. Depending on
the space and time you have they can be grown on in the greenhouse or windowsill until
about the end of May. Autumn grown sweet peas can be planted.Sow hardy annuals and half
hardy annuals,plant summer flowering bulbs.
Perennials
Plant lilies in containers. Weed beds and keep an eye out for slugs and snails.Start
Dahlia tubers into growth and plant Gladioli. Check Irises and protect from slugs and
snails.
Shrubs and climbers
Plant deciduous shrubs up until the end of the month.After this time they will need a lot
more help (watering) to establish their roots sufficiently to survive the summer.Prune out
any damage that has occurred over the winter. Cut back Caryopteris, deciduous Ceanothus
and Hypericum calycinum. Cut hard back any Cornus and Salix grown for their coloured
stems. Cut Fuchsias and Lavatera back to live wood.
Trees and hedges
Plant deciduous and evergreen hedges (not broad-leaved evergreen). Weed around hedge bases
and apply weed killer if used. Top dress and mulch trees.
Roses
Finish planting bare root roses. It is still alright to plant container grown roses as
long as the soil is workable and not too dry. Prune floribunda, repeat flowering shrubs
and climbers, and standards.Cut out all dead, damaged and diseased growth.If you use
insecticide and fungicide, start using them now. It is next to useless to start in June or
July when the problems become apparent.
Lawn
Re-seed and repair any damage done during the winter. Start to mow regularly with the
blades set high. Apply combined feed, weed and moss killers from now till July. It is a
suitable time of year to turf and seed new lawns.Put weedkiller down on paths and patios.
Vegetables
Sow maincrop sprouts, parsnips,salad onions, radishes, late summer cabbages, leeks, and
summer spinach. Potatoes can be planted from the end of the month.
Fruit
Finish pruning and start your spraying programme if appropriate. If you do not wish to
spray, then start looking for pests and diseases, that is how you will stop them becoming
too bad.Prevention is always better than cure,and vigilance is part of prevention.
Greenhouse
Pot on and tidy up overwintered plants. Start feeding Pelargoniums. Start Cannas and
Begonias into growth. Aphids will start to appear on the soft new growth.
Pond
Replace about a third of the water in the pond and generally tidy it up after winter. Feed
fish if they are lively. Top dress water lilies and marginals. Slugs will appreciate the
tender new leaves of your marginals and bog plants.
Indoors
Start increasing the amount of water and feed that you give your plants. Move plants from
south and west facing windows to north and east facing ones. As the weather warms up the
sun will become too intense for all but succulents and cacti.Be honest with yourself and
replace plants that are tatty. The rest of the world thinks the British are very funny for
treating their houseplants like pets, so use it as an excuse to buy lots of lovely new
ones.
Shrubs suitable for
heavy shade
