Garden jobs for April

April is here! lets hope we can say goodbye to those hard frosts and say hello to early mornings and late evenings. There is still plenty to do this month in your garden. To help you get started, we’ve put together a quick list of things to do this April.

• Sow hardy annuals – The chances of a hard frost are getting slimmer, so it’s time to sow those hardy annuals, herbs and wild flower seed outdoors.
  
• Sowing seeds outdoors is an easy, inexpensive and fun way to grow new plants. It’s ideal for a wide range of hardy flowers and vegetables such as broad beans, broccoli, cabbages, carrots, leeks, parsnip and peas.
  
• Sunflowers – Sow in an open sunny spot and water them regularly.
  
• Salad leaves (rocket etc…) – Fresh, home grown salads are the easiest thing to grow and can be done in any size pot.
  
• Herbs – These are another easy thing to grow. Herbs such as parsley, coriander and dill can be done small pots or raised beds.
  
• Deadhead spring bulbs. Without deadheading, the plants will waste energy setting seed.

Don’t forget the wildlife

As your garden starts to come to life after a long cold winter. Your local wildlife also start to make their appearance again. Open your window first thing in the morning and listen the dawn chorus.

Here are a few idea to help your local wildlife.

• Make a bird bath – Nothing exciting a simple bowl of water will attract common birds such as sparrows, robins and blue tits.

• Scatter some easy to grow wildflower mix – once established, this attract bees and butterflies.

• Hang up a bird feeder or feeding station – They can take a couple weeks for birds to notice them and regularly visit them but worth the wait.