The Garden in April 2025
‘Oh, to be in Wales now that April’s here’ with apologies to Robert Browning.
Quite right too, where else would you want to be at this time of year? March, once it began to warm up, started the gardening year well but once the Spring Equinox arrives the growing season really seems to kick off for the arrival of April. True, the month might well bring its usual crop of showers as well as some chilly nights but these cannot take away from all the delights which April will also bring.
Looking back through the past April blogs I see that in 2021 I was enjoying the spring flowers in our own garden, working on the lawn, tidying the beds and borders and getting plant supports in place, seed sowing and planting container grown plants. In April 2022 the blog came from the gardens at Aberglasney and in April 2023 I was again concentrating on ‘Beds and Borders’ including soil preparation, ‘traditional’ herbaceous beds/borders, the more modern ‘mixed’ beds/borders followed by planning and planting ideas including thoughts about size, shape, height and form of plants, planting in groups, using colours and having a succession of planting. In April 2024, ‘Between the Showers’, I highlighted five April plants that I wouldn’t want to be without- Fritillaria meleagris (Snakeshead Fritillary), Caltha palustris (Marsh Marigold), Clematis alpina and macropetala, spring flowering Viburnums and finally any or all of the ornamental, flowering Cherries. I also covered lawn care in some detail- dealing with thatch and moss, aerating, feeding and over-seeding, as well as a short section on growing Figs in this country, summer flowering bulbs and an introduction to the growing of bonsai trees. I told you that there is a lot going on in April!
A white Snakeshead Fritillary and our lovely white cherry ‘The Bride’
For this April’s blog and talk (on Saturday 5th at 10am in the wild bird section at the Old Railway Line) I am going to highlight one of the most striking of spring plants and have a look at six ideas to get your gardens ready for spring.
My plant this year for April is the truly magnificent Magnolia which amongst many other attributes has the ability to compel the viewer just to ‘stand and stare’ at its sheer beauty. Magnolias begin to stir the blood quite early in the year as their silvery-grey flower buds begin to swell and then later literally burst into life in late March and April. For this reason, they featured in an article in the March edition of the RHS magazine, ‘The Garden’, by Seamus O’Brien the head gardener of the National Botanic Gardens of Ireland. They are certainly one of the most glamorous and aristocratic of spring flowers coming as they do in a wide range of colours (some are even yellow or blue tinted) and sizes to suit every garden. These early flowering species and cultivars which bloom before the leaves emerge are the real harbingers of spring giving such glorious impact to our gardens as they finally shake off their winter slumber.
Two of the stunning Magnolias at Aberglasney
The earliest introductions to this country came from North America but the real turning point in European Magnolia cultivation came with the introduction from China by Sir Joseph Banks in 1789 of Magnolia denudata where it is known as ‘Yulan’. It is a magnificent sight when in full flower with its bare branches festooned with goblet-shaped blooms which are pure white and deliciously lemon-scented. Just three decades later a French cavalry officer, Etienne Soulange-Bodin, hybridised it with the Japanese Magnolia, M. liliflora (the Mulan Magnolia), creating M. x soulangeana, the ever-popular and most adaptable of all Magnolias which we all recognise today. In the wild Magnolias are woodland plants, often growing on forested mountain slopes in the shelter of other trees and shrubs. The Himalayan species and the newer introductions from Vietnam are well-suited to coastal gardens with higher rainfall while those from China tend to be hardier and easier to grow successfully in colder gardens inland. All love some shelter, humus-rich, water-retentive yet free-draining soil and their canopy in the sun to encourage flower head formation in late summer and early autumn. In large gardens Magnolias are grown amongst other trees and shrubs to benefit from a rich leaf-litter and shelter from the wind. For more isolated specimens the addition of an annual mulch and some form of shelter from particularly the north and east winds, if possible, will help them thrive. Most Magnolias prefer slightly acidic to neutral soils, though several including M. stellata and M. x loebneri are quite happy even in alkaline soils. In smaller gardens the size of Magnolia species or cultivars and their positions are quite important. We have all seen small front gardens of older houses completely dominated by a single, large Magnolia so it is important to choose the right size for the space available. In mild winters the buds begin to swell as early as January so to avoid them being damaged by sudden frosts their position in the garden is also an important consideration. Frost pockets should be avoided along with sites facing east. Apart from possible cold winds from this direction, early morning sun following a frost can spell disaster, possibly blackening growth, damaging flowers and, worse still, splitting bark. Some hybrids, however, have been bred from hardy species to avoid this and in colder areas it is hard to beat the lilac-pink M. x loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’. In our changing climate with wetter, often windier winters and hot, dry spells in the summer (sometimes!) one of the best Magnolias which can adapt to these conditions is M. x soulangeana and its cultivars such as ‘Lennei Alba’ and ‘Pickard’s Ruby’. Another good tip is to plant smaller trees with their only moderate root systems near to buildings for the shelter which they offer. This has certainly helped our M. stellata, one of the best ‘smaller’ trees, which is in our north facing front garden quite close to the house. It understandably flowers later than it would normally but is still full of flowers when the time comes and suffers little, if any, wind or frost damage.
One of the first flowers on our Magnolia stellata
In terms of planting combinations, Magnolias work well with other spring interest plants such as Camellia, maples and dogwoods. Don’t forget that some are deliciously scented and work really well near entrances, driveways and doors.
Two more beauties from Aberglasney
I found the ‘six jobs to do to get your garden ready for spring’ in an article in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday 15th March 2025. Let’s see if you agree with the author Tom Brown. His first is to clear weeds from the beds and borders. Weeds, or as we usually describe them ‘plants in the wrong place’, are incredibly successful plants as many have adapted to produce several generations of plants over a short period of time ie. lots of seeds! For this reason it is important to keep on top of them right from the start of the growing season in the beds and borders which we expect to give us the very best show of plants and flowers over many months. Don’t forget though that many of these ‘weeds’ have beneficial attributes in terms of providing shelter, food and pollination prospects for many insects and if you have a wilder part of the garden it is well worth leaving this alone to provide as much diversity of life as possible. Back in the beds and borders there is no better method of weed control than the physical work done with finger and thumb or hoe for annual weeds or a fork for more persistent weeds. The tops of annual weeds can be left on the soil surface to wilt and die but the larger weeds unless they have a particularly strong root system such as dandelion or bindweed can be composted. Your beds and borders will look so much better for this and your ornamental plants will grow so much better without the competition from the weeds for water and nutrients.
From this first job Tom moved on to the second stage in soil preparation for the growing season ahead- mulching the surface with some form of organic matter. Probably the best are your own garden compost, well-rotted animal manure, recycled green waste (often marketed as ‘Greengrow’) from council recycling centres and peat-free soil improvers from the garden centre. Any of these will not only help to suppress any new weeds, help to retain moisture in the soil, eventually over time help to improve the soil structure and nutrient holding capacity but also boost soil life. They will also in the long run provide vital plant nutrients so that your plants can perform well. I also like to add a little more in terms of feed at this time of year with a scattering of pelleted chicken manure either before or after the mulch is laid.
I think most gardeners would agree with Tom that the two jobs already discussed are pretty high on the list for springtime. Some might, however, at first glance not see his third idea in the same light- ‘Lay off the lawn and focus on the patio’! I agree that when the lawn is still very wet and lacking grass growth through March (although this didn’t really apply to this year’s very dry March) it is best to keep off it and concentrate on other things. However, come April there is plenty to be done on the lawn from trimming the edge, mowing, raking, aeration, moss control and adding a feed perhaps with an added weed killer. Of course, if you have a patio in early spring it will almost certainly benefit from a brush, scrub or power wash and perhaps also a treatment from one of the many algae and moss killers for hard surfaces.
Tom’s next piece of advice is to buy some potted, spring bulbs to bring some instant spring colour to beds, borders and pots. I think it’s so true to say that when most of us get to spring we wish that we had planted more bulbs in the autumn. In containers the addition of small ivies, heucheras and other small evergreens can add extra interest. By April, of course, many of the dwarf Daffodils might be past their best but Tulips will be ready and willing to take their place. I am increasingly aware of how good Tulips can look in pots and try to plant more each autumn- or spring if I didn’t get around to it!
One of our ‘new’ Tulips planted last November, Tulipa ‘Ronaldo’
Next on Tom’s list is to tie in climbers especially Clematis which he says you should never turn your back on at this time of year when they are growing rapidly and can become a tangled mess very easily. Young shoots can be quite brittle so need gentle handling. Soft jute string is probably the best thing to use by tying to the support first and then loosely tying around the stem using a figure of eight with the centre of the eight between the stem and the support to give a cushioning effect. The ties need to be tight enough to hold the stem in place but loose enough to allow the stem to thicken. Through the summer the ties can be checked and loosened if necessary.
His final recommendation doesn’t apply to all of us but if you have a greenhouse or cold frame it is very important to clean both sides of the glass as good light is a precious commodity for your growing plants. At the same time there is also an opportunity to clean pots and trays so that they are all ready for action when you need them.
So, there are six jobs to think about if you haven’t already done so but they are not the only ones by any means. I wonder if your top six differs from Tom’s?
Finally for this blog and talk I came across a new word to me in this month’s edition of the RHS magazine, ‘The Garden’. The word is ‘edimentals’ which refers to ornamental plants commonly found in our gardens which are also edible. We have talked before about certain flowers which are edible but the writer of the article, Stephen Barstow, who lives and gardens in Norway has taken this idea to a whole new level. It all started when he became aware that the Hosta is an edimental which developed from nibbling an early spring shoot through to cream of hosta soup, hosta pie, hosta sushi and blanched young shoots in a dipping sauce of roasted sesame oil and soy sauce! Over his forty years of exploring edimentals he has trialled some 9000 different edible perennials. Some are reasonably well known such as dahlias, bellfowers, begonias, saxifragas, bistort, lilies and mallow but there are clearly so many more. Stephen says that they are every bit as tasty as our traditional food crops, are more climate resistant, require less water, are more drought and shade tolerant, are often spring harvested and therefore less vulnerable to pests and diseases and are packed full of vitamins and minerals. If you would like to know more, Stephen’s book ‘Around the World in Eighty Plants’ was published in 2014 and online you can see more of his work at edimentals.com As you can imagine all this comes with a disclaimer not to eat plants unless you have correctly identified them, make sure to prepare them in the right way as not all can be eaten raw and always sample new plants in small amounts first.
Well, that is all for this month but I will continue to write the blogs over the coming months even though I won’t be able to give the Saturday talks after the one on April 5th for a few months at least. However, the talks will continue thanks to Matt and Lucy from the garden centre ably assisted by our very own Kate. The May talk will actually take place within the new plant area structure which the garden centre is looking forward to opening later this month on April 12th just in time for Easter!
Enjoy your spring and summer gardening and I look forward to getting back to the talks as soon as I can and catching up with you and your garden stories.
Keith