Tasks for April

Send cyclamen off for a summer rest so they can build up their strength for another stunning display to brighten up the house next winter. Cyclamen are invaluable winter houseplants, giving you a vivid splash of colour soon after Christmas and cheering you up right through the drabness of January and February. They come in every shade from a deep [...]

Plant early flowering clematis for a truly delicious spring display, clothing walls and fences in a cascade of blossom through April and May. The early-flowering clematis, like C. alpina, start producing fresh green leaves in late winter, followed by beautiful nodding flowers. You'll find several different varieties in our garden centre, from popular 'Frances Rivis' with twisted, floppy blue flowers, [...]

Get your cloches ready to provide a little extra protection this month, as the weather can still be unpredictable and with vulnerable veg seedlings just planted out it can really catch you on the hop. Choose from a simple to use polythene cloche you can just concertina out over your plants whenever you need it, or one of our more [...]

April's plant of the month is the rhododendron, one of the most spectacular plants you'll plant in your garden. A majestic large shrub of large, glossy, evergreen leaves for most of the year, in April and May it erupts into a positive explosion of huge blooms in brilliant carmine, pink or pure white. Among a huge range of really wonderful [...]

It's hard to know where to start when everything is bursting into life and flower all at once. Start with these jobs and you won't go far wrong. Don't forget to stop for a moment occasionally, though, just to enjoy. General tasks: Tackle bindweed the moment it pokes above ground. Dig it out by the roots, or paint each new [...]