What to do in the garden this month: April gardening tips
Hurray for spring! After a long and extra wet winter, we’re ready to embrace brighter days. Now is a great time to start adding a vibrant display of colour to your beds and containers but beware of April frost! Look for cold-hardy options such as pansies, voilas, and dianthus that will stand up to a late freeze.
If you are purchasing early flowering perennials, ensure to pick the best to suit your garden’s orientation. Shade-tolerant options include lungwort, with its speckled silver leaves and pinkish-blue flowers that emerge in spring; Brunnera macrophylla Jack Frost, a hardy forget-me-not with a dazzling display of blue; and bergenia, A.K.A. elephant’s ears. These evergreen perennials, which earn their moniker from their foliage, perform well in the shade, brightening dark corners with a flourish of pale pink, white or magenta.
If you planted tulip bulbs in autumn, the wait is nearly over. These spring beauties should start pushing through any day now. If you missed this planting window, fear not! Nurseries and garden centres will soon be filled with a colourful array of tulips, ready for transfer to your beds or pots. Tulips are sun-worshippers, so choose a spot in full- or partial-sun. Other sun-loving options in bloom at this time of year are iris, evergreen candytuft, and creeping rosemary.
While tulips bring much cheer to your garden, many varieties are bypassed by pollinators. To feed our buzzing friends, consider adding hyacinth, anemones, or camassia. And remember, dandelions are not the enemy. Nutrient-rich and edible, they provide vital food for early pollinators. They’re also great in salads!
We’re entering the busy period for GIY gardeners. Cool season crops such as lettuce, spinach, peas and radishes can be sown outdoors now as can root vegetables like carrots, beetroot and turnip. Climbing beans make a great option for vertical gardens, as do herbs and berries.
Now’s the time to sow strawberries, if you haven’t done so already. You’ll find a helpful grow guide on bordbia.ie. This is a fun activity for children and, later in the month, why not try sowing sunflower seeds too? Pick a sunny, sheltered spot in a weed-free bed, plant them 4cm deep, 30-50cm apart, water regularly, keep an eye out for slugs and snails, and watch them grow. Your little gardeners will love them, and pollinators will too!
For more tips on tidying, pruning, mowing, and growing, see our February and March gardening columns.
