Garden Blog - April 2024

As popular playwright of yesteryear, William Shakespeare, put it, in Sonnet XCVIII, ‘April hath put a spirit of youth in everything.’

He wasn’t wrong. Our gardens are bursting with fresh new life just now. Bulbs in particular are putting on quite a show, be they daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, or a multitude of other spring favourites.

Hyacinths, with their cheerful colours and fabulous scent, are the very epitome of spring. At this time of year, we add to our display of hyacinths in the formal gardens by planting out forced bulbs that we used to decorate the house over Christmas and New Year. They are as reliable as dry bulbs planted in autumn, will continue to brighten the garden for many years to come, and are an excellent example of garden recycling.

In the wild gardens, a bulb of particular interest right now are the woodland tulips, otherwise known as Tulipa sylvestris, that have naturalised there in great masses. Though native to the Mediterranean region, over time, and under human influence, they have become naturalised throughout much of Europe and western Asia, though this is rare in Britain. Habitats in which woodland tulips thrive include open woodlands, orchards, hedgerows, riversides, and grassy banks. On cloudy days, the golden flowers of this most elegant tulip bow down and remain tightly closed. However, when stimulated by the warmth of spring sunshine, they raise their heads, open up, and add a little joy to the world.

Another joy at this time of year are clusters of primroses that thrive in dappled shade, flowering their hearts out, before newly emerging foliage will hide them from view.

In times of yore, Celtic Druids believed that primroses helped ward off evil spirits, and could connect us with the fairies. According to Scottish folklore, if you want to see a fairy, you must eat a primrose, which is surely a very good reason to nibble on these edible plants. Furthermore, leaving primroses on your doorstep ensures that fairies will bless your house, and putting primroses in a cowshed will deter them from stealing the milk.

Besides offering great benefits where fairies are concerned, primroses, with clusters of pretty flowers in a rainbow of shades, are a great boon to the cheeriness of our gardens too. Over time, primulas naturally bulk up to form large clumps that can be lifted and divided to increase their numbers. Once lifted, the clumps can be teased apart by hand, separating them into individual crowns to replant where required. It’s important to water these new plants in well when planting and, if the weather is warm, it may be necessary to water them again a time or two.

Although we are thoroughly enjoying the delights of spring, us gardeners, of course, always have one eye on the future. As such, each year we grow perennials to add diversity to the permanent planting, and annuals for plugging gaps in borders or for filling our summer displays in pots and urns. Growing plants from seed is a straightforward process that is very rewarding indeed. It’s best to use a specific seed and cutting compost, as these have been developed to give the best results. Half fill a seed tray with compost, level it out and tamp down gently, then water. Watering before sowing ensures that your seeds are not washed away from where you sowed them. Seed should be sown evenly and sparingly to allow each new seedling its own space. Some seed will need covering with a fine layer of sieved compost, whereas others need to remain exposed, the seed packet will tell you what to do on that front. Cover your seed trays with a sheet of glass of transparent plastic to maintain humidity, and place in a bright and warm location. Within a matter of days your seed will begin to germinate. At this point remove the glass and ensure that the compost doesn’t dry out at all. When your seedlings have produced a second set of leaves, they are ready to be pricked out and potted up. Then, when the risk of frosts has passed, it’s time to plant them outdoors.

Finally, our glasshouses, where so many plants are germinated, propagated, and housed, can be prone to overheating during late spring and summer. Plants exposed to these conditions dry out very quickly, and can wilt and scorch as a result. Therefore, it’s essential that we provide the plants within our glasshouse with shade. We use a liquid shading concentrate that is simply mixed with water in a bucket, following manufacturer’s instructions, and applied to the exterior of the glasshouse with a mop. Our glasshouse shading is bought in bulk from a horticultural supplier, but the same product in smaller containers is available in good garden centres. Alternative methods of glasshouse shading available include external shade netting, whereby a large piece of plastic weave can simply be thrown over the roof and clipped to the outside, or use the same type of shade netting but clipped up to the interior.

Until next month, happy gardening.

Hyacinths on the Parterre	A primrose fairy	Primroses	Woodland tulips