After a few months of largely indoor activity, April should see gardeners getting properly active outside again. Even though spring should be here by now, remember that cold snaps are still possible, so be prepared if frosts are forecast.

You’ll probably notice the effect of the warmer and longer days on the growth of grass and weeds. April is a great month to work on lawns to get them ready for the outdoor season. Scarify to remove thatch and improve aeration, feed and apply weed and moss treatments (if required).  Whether you are looking to have a traditional lawn or a wilder environment, increasing the amount of light and air available and removing unwanted plants will help to achieve the look you want.  Remember a weed is simply a plant in the wrong place.  This may be dandelions in a lawn, but could equally be a dominant grass in a wildflower meadow.

We have a very small front lawn, with the whole of the back garden set to planting and providing habitats for wildlife, so we try to keep the small lawn neat.  At this time of year we scarify, gently, before each cut.

Raked Lawn

If soft ground has kept you off the borders, then by April you ought to be able to get back on to them. Give everything a thorough weeding. Small annual and ephemeral weeds spread at a surprisingly fast rate and the perennials like bindweed, ground elder and dandelions are all starting to show themselves at this time of year so it is the perfect time to get ahead of the weeds. After weeding, feed and mulch ornamental plants and get supports in for plants now so that they are already in place by the time that the plants need them.

A Peony growing into its support.

As the spring bulbs begin to fade, remove the flowers so that the bulb’s energy is not spent on seed production. Leave the foliage for 6 weeks to die back naturally, feeding the bulb for next year, before tidying it up.

Now is a good time to cut back some early flowering shrubs such as Forsythia and Chaenomeles. These will be getting past their peak, so now is the perfect time to prune them. Next year’s Forsythia flowers will come on this year’s growth, so you can take it back quite a long way if desired.

Finally, be wary of nesting birds if you are tempted to trim your hedges.  It is against the law to intentionally damage or destroy a nest and for many birds it is also illegal to do this, or to disturb the birds, accidentally if your actions are deemed reckless.