“April’s rare capricious loveliness… I have counted one hundred and thirty-six different kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.” Well, gardening in April this year has certainly been interesting! Snow, hail, torrential rain, howling winds, sunshine, and at long last, some welcome warmth. Spring has felt much colder and longer this year and it’s certainly impacting our April garden. However, whisper it, the sunshine might be here to stay at long last, so what let’s take a look at what’s on my gardening to do in April list.
What to do in the garden in April
I was very lucky with the weather for all the photographs in this post – as you can see, our April garden was bathed in glorious wall-to-wall sunshine. So, down here in the South West of England, that does make gardening in April a whole lot easier than, say, parts of Canada who are emerging from several feet of snow. But Spring tends to bring the same gardening jobs in the UK, regardless of the weather, and I hope my April gardening tips will be helpful.
Spring flowering plants in April
If you’re wondering what flowers are best to plant in April, then may I direct you towards my favourite cutting flower, the tulip. Quite honestly, your choice is limitless, both in terms of colour, size and shape. The red and gold one on the left is one I planted last Autumn, and the purple goblet on the right is from a couple of years ago. Confession: the tulips I planted in pots last Autumn were supposed to be for cutting for the house but they look so gorgeous in the garden I’ve decided to leave them in situ.
The soil is beginning to warm up now, so if you’re wondering what can I plant outside in April, now is the best time for planting new bare root perennials. Such as these lovely Spring flowering shrubs, the Skimmias. They have a gorgeous fragrance, not unlike a lilac, and your bees will be very grateful too. Bare root perennials simply means the plants arrives in plastic bags with no soil, rather than in pots. So although they’re cheaper to buy, you must get them into the ground as soon as possible, before the roots dry out.
While on the subject of bees, all the Spring blossom is starting to open up too. The plum blossom in this month’s cover picture, the pear blossom and the cherry blossom are all humming with different varieties of bee. But the one thing they all have in common is their fat little pollen knickerbockers 🙂
Turning back to bulbs again (because you know how much I love my bulbs), we’ve still got plenty of daffodils and narcissi to enjoy. And our lovely bluebells are just beginning to peek through the grass. Over the next few weeks you might be lucky enough to see them carpeting the woodland floors. But please don’t dig them up, if you want bluebells in your own garden, buy them as bulbs in the green in from a reputable supplier. I like Gee Tee Bulbs best, I get nearly all our bulbs from here. And they sell other plants such as bare root perennials too.
Our lovely Japanese quince is flowering profusely, which I hope means a good harvest of quince fruit later this summer. I used some in homemade apple sauce last year and they were delicious. And I’ve spotted a single white Lunaria (Honesty) glowing in the shade of the wall. I don’t remember scattering the seeds but Lunaria are biennials, meaning they flower every two years. So it’s entirely possible I did drop some, and then forgot all about them.
Over in our woodland area the wild garlic has started flowering underneath our weeping pear – pesto time, yum! And I’m thrilled to see the first tiny wild strawberry shining through too. Although (and I’m aware how ungrateful this sounds) wild strawberry plants are like weeds in our garden, they grow everywhere and can quickly take over. Still, the tiny berries are very pretty as cake toppings or summer cocktail garnishes 🙂
Doesn’t the blue of the Muscari grape hyacinths look lovely against the yellow of the Forsythia? Gorgeous Spring colour palettes. And our summer snowflakes by the pond are the best yet (and yes, I know I said this last year too).
Last but not least, I think the best flowers to plant in April are the ones that give you joy. Like this glorious burst of yellow in the pot by our front door. Of course I’ve lost the label I can’t remember what it is now… But I’m very happy to see a few buds emerging from our little Magnolia tree. She’s only tiny, and it will be years before she reaches the giddy heights of an adult, but we love her nonetheless.
What to do in the vegetable garden in April
If you’re wondering what vegetables can you plant in April, or what seeds to sow in April outdoors, you could try some colourful Swiss chard* or some hardy Brussels sprouts*. Or you could plant out some more of my favourites, Broad beans*. The ones I planted last month are poking through the soil now, but it’ll be a quite a few more weeks until they’re ready to harvest. Over on the right, we have our reliable Rhubarb, although I’ll have to resort to the supermarket for crumble supplies for a while yet.
It’s really too late for pruning any fruit trees now but if you need to cut out any dead or crossing branches, then by all means do so. And in the meantime, continue creating the best gardening soil possible for your future vegetables: fertilised, weed free, and raked to a fine tilth (ie, no large clumps to stunt your new seedlings). Speaking of seedlings, here are the nasturtiums* (on the left) and the tomatoes* and cucumbers* (on the right) that I sowed as seeds last month. I’ll pot them on and grow them on in the greenhouse for now, as they’re still too small to go outside.
The next batch of vegetables that I want to start off as seeds indoors are some Sweetcorn* and some Dill*. Sweetcorn I haven’t grown for a few years because it takes up so much space, but now that Alan’s built me some extra vegetable beds, I can. Home grown sweetcorn is nothing like shop bought: it’s sweet, tender, and the sugar hit has to be tasted to be believed. And I do love dill, not just for the edible factor (leaves and flowers) but they look so pretty in the vegetable bed and as cut foliage for my vases too.
Gardening jobs in April
First up on the April gardening to do list is starting to deadhead the daffodils and tete-a-tetes that are going over in our garden, orchard, and pots. Tip: when you have to deadhead your bulbs, pinch off the heads but leave the stalks to go brown before cutting. The bulb will carry on taking nutrients through the stalk, ready to bloom again next year. And scatter the heads on the ground as the seeds will go into the soil to generate new plants.
Other gardening in April jobs include repairing any bare patches in your lawn. You can either replace with new rolls of turf or sow some new lawns with fresh grass seed. Allegedly, you can buy pigeon-proof grass seed too, but clearly no-one has told our pigeons this 🙁 However, onto more cheerful things to grow in April, here are some of the seeds you can plant this month, both indoors and outside.
On the left are the night-scented plants, Nicotiana* and Stocks*. Not only wonderfully fragrant when you’re sitting outside with a glass of wine, they’re great for moths as well. Why should butterflies get all the fun? Nicotania I’ll sow indoors for now, Stocks I’ll scatter outside where I want them to flower. As I’ll do with the gloriously vibrant blue Cornflowers* and creamy yellow Calendulas* (although you can grow them in pots indoors too). Not only are these both very pretty, they’re edible flowers as well – win, win.
Looking at some more of the seeds I sowed last month, on the left are the Claret Sunflowers* seedlings, transplanted from inside the house. The Rudbeckia Cherry Brandy* seedlings are still very small so I’m keeping them inside for now. Unfortunately, none of my yellow sunflowers germinated this year, and neither did my purple petunias. Over on the right, we have a weedy little crop of Cosmos Lemonade* and Cosmos Dazzler* which were sown outside in the greenhouse. I think it’s been too cold for them, I’m going to have to sow a few more this month to make up.
But the fragrant Sweet Peas* are well away, and I’ve just pinched out the leading tips to encourage bushier growth. This just means pinching off any growth above the first two pairs of full grown leaves, so you end up with stronger plants when you come to plant them in the garden. Sadly, none of my purple Cobea Scandens vine* seeds germinated – again, I think it was too cold for them in the greenhouse this year.
Wildlife gardening jobs for April
Despite what I said last month about not getting a water pump for our wildlife pond due to the newly laid frogspawn, if you look closely, you’ll see that we got one anyway. And very soothing the water feature is too. Fortunately, neither the fish nor the emerging tadpoles seem to be bothered in the slightest, which is a relief.
And although the pump has only been in situ for around 10 days, it’s already started to clear some of the green bloom that had accumulated over winter. Plus it’s aerating the water for the fish and wildlife as well. However, as the water warms up, the algae will start to bloom faster. So we might have to pop some bales of barley straw* in the water, to help discourage algae and keep the water clearer over summer. We’ll see. In the meantime, how cute are the tadpoles though?
Gardening in April – a summary
So there we are, a summary of my April gardening update. At the time of writing, it’s hard to believe it’s almost time to start thinking about next month already. But I hope I’ve answered some of the most common questions people tend to ask, such as:
- What should I do this month in the garden?
- What can I plant in the garden in April?
- What should I do in my garden in April?
And while I always love sharing my favourite gardening tips for April, I want to keep things real. So I’m sharing my failures as well as successes, because Nature will always do her own thing, whatever you might have planned. And because sometimes my failures lead me to try things I wouldn’t have tried otherwise, although there really isn’t time to go into that in this blog post! Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed your virtual visit to our garden and orchard this month. And if you have, that you’ll come back again next month when I’ll be sharing my May garden update with you.
“I love Spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.”
Have you ever grown any of the flowers or vegetables I’m growing this month? Have I answered all your April garden questions, or is there anything else I can help you with? Do you have a favourite activity when you’re gardening in April?
* This post features affiliate links but all opinions are my own (see my Disclaimer).
The Skimmias are so pretty, especially in purple, I’d love a garden filled with that colour! Fixing any bare patches on the lawn is on my to-do list, it struggled through winter but fortunately the sun has brought back the magic in the green – and highlight all the obvious bald bits, haha! Lovely post 🙂
Anika
They are fabulous plants, so easy to grow. And sadly our bald patches are as a result of a grub infestation that we’re still stuck with for now. I’m seriously considering getting rid of all the grass on our lawn and replacing it with wildflower meadow instead right now!
Wow your garden certainly is in bloom now, isn’t it!? I adore tulips and daffodils, they just personify Spring for me!
Rosie
It’s getting there, but it feels like it’s taken forever!
I love seeing your gardening updates, mostly because I’m shocking with anything like that! I really like the look of the flowers you’ve planted and I look forward to next month’s update x
Thank you so much, Kayleigh, that’s so kind – you know I’m self-taught though, it’s all trial and error! xx
I love seeing your garden, but I think I say this every month. 🙂 The tulips are gorgeous. I bought some too this year, it’s quite amazing how many types of tulips are there. The pond is so nice, I wish we had a bit more space for a pond too.
And I love hearing you say this every month, Anca! I’ve realised I need to treat tulips as annuals – if they come back next year all well and good but not to rely on them 🙂
You have been busy. Your flowers are beautiful.
Here in Canada we have snow forecast today. LOL The tulips and daffodils won’t like that but it happens pretty much every year.
My tomatoes, peppers, geraniums and coleus are growing happily in pots under grow lights. Looking forward to late May when I can move them outside.
Thank you – I was only joking about snow in Canada but oops! Coleus is a new one on me, haven’t tried that before, but the foliage is beautiful, isn’t it?
Can you believe I’ve never actually seen a tadpole until now in this post haha? I hate frogs but okay, they’re kinda cute. Your garden looks beautiful, I love Spring for flowers. Tulips are some of my favourites. A beautiful little park near to us have loads of gorgeous tulips at the moment! xxx
No way, really? Wow, that’s amazing – I know you’re not keen on frogs but seriously, when these guys hatch, the tiny little frogs are even cuter! Thank you, Jenny, I hope you’ll be able to see our garden IRL sometime soon! xxx
I always wait for your gardening posts and beautiful pictures every month! Love to see all the cherry and pear blossoms coming up and the tulips too, are gorgeous! Also glad to see that the tadpoles are growing too! Thank you for sharing x
Ah, Cristina, that’s such a lovely thing to say, thank you, I’m so happy you enjoy these posts! x
I love reading gardening posts Lisa, the flowers that are currently growing in your garden are lovely! x
Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.uk
Thank you so much, Lucy, that’s so kind of you x
Oh wow!!!!!!!! Tulips are blooming in your garden this month. I love tulips. But they don’t grow in Malaysia. Malaysia is a tropical country. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Fadima, but I’m so sorry tulips don’t grow in Malaysia – although I’m sure you have lots of other beautiful flowers to love!
It’s so considerate to wait on the pond pump! I have been loving seeing all the sprouts around the town when out for a walk. I love seeing your pictures and tulips!
Thank you, we thought so, but the green algae needed dealing with in the end! 🙂
I always look forward to your garden posts and now it’s even better with the sun and the perfect season! Thank you for sharing Lisa, your garden is envious! We did some gardening yesterday but nothing like this! x
Thank you so much, Simona, that’s so lovely to hear – butd I have to admit, I do sometimes wish our garden was smaller! x
I always love these monthly posts Lisa – your garden is so beautiful! We’ve had a blast of heat this past week and my garden has suddenly exploded with flowering bulbs, and bushes. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you, Jodie – I’m keeping everything crossed we don’t have a really cold snap here, I don’t think all our new growth will be very happy!
Great garden update! Thank you for sharing this! I love tulips and daffodils in spring! I also really like growing your own fruit and veg!
Thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it!
My fingers are any other colour but green. (Smiles) I do remember many years ago however that I did have 2 pots of strawberries. I think that’s the A-Z of my gardening. I’m very happy however to admire yours via your blog. Your garden is sensational and that very first pic, a stunner.
Strawberries are good – fun to grow and delicious to harvest! And thank you, that’s very kind – I got lucky with the bluest sky ever on the day I took my photos 🙂
Thank you so much for all your gardening tips and advice! This year I’ve been running behind and have not been able to plant anything yet outside (mainly it’s been cold and wet) but I did plant some cilantro and lettuce in little pots.
I wish I had a garden space as large as yours, I’m jealous lol.
Thank you for sharing!
Ah that’s so kind of you, I’m so pleased these posts are helpful – please don’t worry about running behind though, now that the warmer weather is here things will very quickly catch up!
Wow your garden is so colourful in April, Love the tulips.
Salad looks awesome, lovely little lake..
Thank you so much 🙂
The tulips are stunning! You have such a gift, it’s a beautiful passion 🙂 Congrats!
xx Dasynka
Thank you so much, that’s very kind 🙂
Saw a lovely array of tulips in my aunties garden the other day, and decided I want some for mine 😂
No signs of strawberries on my plants yet though.
Ha, that’s the best way to plant your garden, seeing something you love elsewhere!
Hi Lisa! I am so inspired by this article! I just published my 2021 gardening article. Speaking of bulbs I am loving them. I managed to grow hyacinths and tulips which I planted last autumn. And I think I will add more next season. I also have gladioli bulbs. Working on other vegetation, herbs, and more flowers. This is awesome!
Oh Vinn, thank you so much, and how exciting that you’re growing so much too – I can’t wait to read your gardening article, I imagine you’ll be growing lots of amazing things in Cyprus that I can only dream of over here!
I love your garden posts, Lisa – for some reason, the photos always end up making me think of The Secret Garden. I love that all your flowers seem to bloom, especially the tulips that have a beautiful colour to them. It was also so cool to see the tadpoles too! Thank you for sharing these posts, as they really brighten up my day.
Oh Hannah, that is the loveliest thing to say, I’m so happy you think of our garden as The Secret Garden (one of my favourite books). Writing these garden posts takes me ages but when I read comments like this, it make it feel so worthwhile x
I love your gardening post. So many beautiful flowers 💐
Thanks for sharing
https://uncuaderno4cero.wordpress.com/
Thank you so much!
Thanks for the tips just bought a house and will be using these tips
Congrats – and I’m glad they’ll be useful 🙂
I love how many different plants you have in your garden! I was just thinking the other day how much I’d love to have a magnolia tree if I ever have my own yard 🙂 I don’t really have much space to garden, but I’m attempting to grow dill this year. I just love the smell of dill, so I thought it was worth trying to have some fresh 🙂
Thank you, Alison, we are very lucky to have our outside space! And yes, do grow some dill, it’s delicious and very attractive as well. You’ll need to give it some support as it grows though, otherwise it will flop everywhere!
One of my goals for this year (spring/summer) is having more flowers in my garden! This is so beautiful and in this way you support the insects! <3
I’m very much on board for your goal – good luck, I hope you have fun doing so!
LOVE LOVE GARDENING !! it really helps me to destress !! such a great post hun 🙂
shy – https://www.shyyshianne.com
It’s such a good way to relax, isn’t it? Thank you!
Read the post and enjoyed it! I love the Japanese quince, though I’ve never tried it with apple sauce; maybe I should. “Best flowers…are the ones that give you joy” – great line! Always such wonderful information about plants and veggies in your posts xx
Thank you, Je, and yes, a little quince definitely adds something to apple sauce, do try it! x
Oo, your pond is looking beautiful! We keep koi and catfish in our spring-fed pond to help with the algae and recently just finished cutting back the growth around the edges. It is looking good now.
We have our plum and peach trees beautifully in bloom, with the apples soon to follow. The scent is really lovely, but I am envious of your tulips! Only hyacinths up for us now and daffodils all done.
Thank you for sharing some lovely photos!
I’d love to have a spring fed pond but sadly we have to make do with a filter, and ours isn’t deep enough for koi. But the goldfish and frogs seem happy enough, fingers crossed. My hyacinths didn’t do much this year so I’m envious of yours!
I bet your garden looks so beautiful this time of year! Tulips are my favourite and they look so gorgeous in your garden. Also daffodils are the best! X
Thank you, Aaliyah, Spring in our garden is definitely one of the most colourful times! x
Ooh the Japenese Quince are absolutely gorgeous!! I always enjoy reading these posts but hoping very soon to start being able to put some into action for myself so will definitely be doing some blog stalking then. Lovely to have some sunshine and a bit of warmth for sure.
Thank you Lindsey – and exciting times ahead for you by the sound of it, I’m intrigued!
This post makes me so happy! I love gardening, but have never actually read any gardening blog posts! I’ve loved been able to get out this month and enjoy the sunshine in ours. Yours looks absolutely stunning!!
Claire.X
http://www.clairemac.co.uk
Ah thank you so much, that’s such a lovely thing to say – and yes, getting out in the sun is just blissful! x
I love seeing the photos of your garden whenever you write a post about gardening, Lisa! It’s neat to see how the garden changes throughout the seasons. Your tulips & daffodils are beautiful. I bought some bulbs this past Fall, but forgot to plant them! I’m thinking about forcing them in a pot of soil, but not sure it that will work.
Thank you so much, Kathy, that’s so kind! Yes, we’ve been lucky with our blooms this year, despite the weather. I’m not sure forcing your tulips will work, they really need a cold spell to germinate – but never say never, it’s worth a shot!
Your garden is absolutely stunning, so much colour this month!
We have some tulips in pots that are meant to be cut for inside, but they’re just so pretty I can’t bring myself to haha.
Thanks for the tip about deadheading the bulbs, it makes a lot of sense. That’s my evenings sorted.
Cora | https://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Ah, thank you, Cora, that’s so kind of you! And happy deadheading, it’s one of my favourite jobs 🙂
Wow! I love your garden so much! There are so many beautiful and gorgeous flowers there. You’re so awesome to manage all of them. I enjoyed reading your post!
Oh thank you so much, that’s so kind, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Your flowers are lovely! I also want to grow flowers too in our garden. I think it’ll add even more beauty to a garden specially with all their different colors.
Thank you Liz – and good luck growing your own, I’m sure you’ll love it!
Wow, that is an exhaustive post packed with information. I love gardening but could always do more. Thanks for all the information.
Ha, thank you, I think it’s one of my longest garden posts yet!
I love seeing all the flowers blooming in your garden this month & that’s exciting the vegetable seeds you planted last month are sprouting!
The weather has been all over the place in Denmark with snow a few weeks to now sun, but FINALLY flowers are starting to bloom here!
Thank you, Karalee, that’s very kind – and yay, I’m so pleased to hear the weather is better in Denmark at last, bring on those flowers!
How beautiful! I had to forego a garden this year, unfortunately, so I’m getting my gardening fix through other people’s blogs. We do have some irises that come up every year, and a few perennials, but I’d like to do so much more. I love your flowers. Thank you for sharing your garden with us!
Oh thank you so much, that’s very kind! And I’m sorry you had to forego your garden this year = I hope that will change in time, I know how much joy mine brings me!
Your garden looks so beautiful. I love the tulips. This reminds me of my grandfather, he really loves garden.
Oh thank you, and what a lovely thing to say!
Such a wholesome and informative post. You’re my fave blogger on gardening. Love the pond!! And those tulips are just beautiful… all the flowers actually. I like how you included a list on gardening jobs too. THanks for sharing, Lisa!
Aw, thank you so much, that’s so kind, what a lovely thing to say! So pleased you enjoy my garden posts 🙂 x
I’ve got a very small patch of bluebells in the garden but they are now flowering and we’ve still got some daffodils too.
You wait until next year, they’ll both have spread and will look even better!
April is a lovely time for the garden with the brighter weather! This is a lovely post and insight into your garden x
Thank you so much, Della, I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! x
I always love seeing your garden updates. Spring has definitely sprung, hasn’t it?! I love seeing the blossoms forming, like your plum trees, our apple tree is well underway with blooming.
Can’t wait to see the seedlings grow!
Thanks for sharing your update and tips!
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
Thank you so much, Aimsy, that’s very kind – and it certainly sounds as if Spring has sprung in your garden too, hooray!
Thanks for sharing what has been growing in your garden, I’m still just keeping my patio tidy till I get some plants when the garden centre opens again 🙂
Yay, fingers crossed they open up soon and you can go plant shopping again!