How to garden in April
The real list of what to do and what not to do in the garden this month. Short-beaked birds, sowing seeds and bluebell walks
I want you to feel confident enough to have a go, maybe even to ask questions, and to feel that amazing feeling you get when you go outside and see your very first seedling poking its way curiously out of the soil. There isn’t anything quite like it.
The sun is out, and, I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but it feels as if there might be some more sunshine in store - do you sense that? Did winter just - well - go?
What a difference to this time last year, when the April What to dos/not-to-dos were basically all to do with how wet it had been during the previous months. That is definitely not the case here in 2025, where in the UK we’ve had a week of sunlight and people are smiling and generally being a little bit jollier - and I’m convinced this is all down to the weather. I’m hoping, wherever you are in the world, that you’ve had some good gardening days. Goodness, does getting outside make us feel better.
If you’re landing here for the first time, welcome - I’m delighted you’ve found us. There’s lots going on here - garden design ideas, easy gardening how-tos, plant recommendations, general garden chat, border planting design tips and tricks, zoom get-togethers and lots more. If you’d like to join in, I’d absolutely love it:
And here’s what I’d love to know: are you someone who has never gardened before but who is tempted? I would be just so happy if you decided to join us: we’ve had so many complete beginners join us over the last few years, and those beginners have over time sown their first seed, harvested their first salad leaves, and are here now forming this community of garden lovers. I want you to feel confident enough to have a go, maybe even to ask questions, and to feel that amazing feeling you get when you go outside and see your very first seedling poking its way curiously out of the soil. There isn’t anything quite like it. You can find lots of beginner ideas here, here and here, and then there are links within these posts to more information.
Our next Zoom will be this Tuesday 1st April at 6pm UK time, where I’ll be sharing the very first insights and peeks behind the scenes into my garden at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May. As always, you get to hear it here on Substack first and my goodness do I have some things to share…...
You can find this Zoom invitation in the PS section below. I’d love it if you could join us - it’s a chance to catch up with other members of The Gardening Mind as well as find out where I’m up to with the planning of this garden. Not to mention the most ridiculous start to the whole build - more of that below.
Excitingly, there are going to be daily meet-ups taking place at the flower show for members of the Gardening Mind: details will be appearing in the Chat. I can’t wait!
Also in the PS section, there’s news about upcoming book events. Thank you to everyone who has bought a copy of The New Romantic Garden so far, and to everyone who came to the sold-out event at the V&A this week - there were lots of Gardening Minds there and it was really properly lovely to meet you.
By the way, do look out for when I’m Going Live here on Substack. The next one will be around 10.30am (UK) today Saturday 29th March, so if you fancy a ramble along with me and Basil the dog, tune in. And we might even take another look at how the spring containers are doing, too.
One more thing before we get going with April: on Sunday mornings, we get together here on the Substack Chat for Show Us Your Plots - if you haven’t tried this out yet, why not make this April the month in which you do? It’s easy, honestly, and most importantly, it’s fun:
Everything is coming up in the garden - every time I go outside, something new catches my eye. Just imagine all those plants which have been hovering under the surface, now allowing themselves out to start the party proper. Yesterday it was the first positively glowing flower on this magnolia in this list. Today it was the first of the snakeshead fritillaries. Iris ‘Scent-sational’ is doing exactly what is says on the tin, whilst Prunus ‘Shogetsu’ brings all the joy. They’re going straight onto my Top 100 Romantic Plants list:
There are so many perennials in that Top 100 list that you can be planting in the garden right now. And having vowed not to allow myself to buy any more plants for most borders, of course I’ve got yet another shopping list on the go. How can we resist the temptation when it’s so sunny and lovely and cheery outside? Now’s the time…. and let’s jolly well enjoy it.
The spring bulbs are going bananas in general: the narcissi are splendid both in pots, beds, and lawn, and the bluest-blue muscari, those little grape hyacinths, are just starting to join them.
Slug wars
The one thing I am absolutely doing immediately is ignoring the news from ‘experts’ that this year is going to be better as far as slugs are concerned. Last year we had a plague of them: apparently the cold weather means that slug and snail eggs won’t have survived. However, this narcissus suggests otherwise:
Look at them - the pesky little blighters. I was too cross to be able to focus the camera properly, but even when blurry, you still get the gist. That is a whole extended family of slugs in there, almost a village’s-worth. We WILL have slugs so we mustn’t get complacent. If you haven’t started with your slug defences yet, here’s my ten-pronged attack system. I employ all ten methods, and last year, it worked.
The lawn is going to get its first cut of the year, as the grass is dry enough to allow me to do so. I do have areas of both short grass and long, for when it comes to No Mow May, I operate a kind of halfway house. I have a wilder area where I allow the grass to grow long, but I keep some of the grass short because of four-footed things: Basil the dog, and also because of winged things: those worm-seeking blackbirds who find it much easier to stab their short beaks around in short grass.
I’m throwing down grass seed on bare patches, and in patches that aren’t walked on, wildflower seeds are going to be scattered in. If they germinate, then wonderful.
I’m taking a case-by-case approach to weeds, as their flowers do provide food for the pollinators. Herb Robert will be allowed to stay, as will the pretty speedwell that blurs soily gaps. The creeping buttercup will be removed from the borders, but I’ll be leaving it in the part of the grass which I leave to grow long.
Dandelions are a special case. I’m not digging up every single one of the dandelions in my lawn; instead I’ll be leaving some of their flowers for the early pollinators. If you’ve ever seen one of those ginormous bumble bees landing on one, you’ll know why I do this. It’s extraordinary watching these improbably huge insects literally bumbling and scouting around for flower food - you can almost sense their delight as they spot the big yellow landing pad. However, I’m not looking at this scenario through rose-tinted spectacles: if you leave dandelions, they will proliferate until you have a whole dandelion lawn, which isn’t marvellous. It’s the early flowers you want to leave, until there’s other food available, and straight after that you can go in to get a lot of them out before they settle in too firmly. I won’t be letting ANY of them go to seed if I can help it, so there’ll be a kind of dandelion clock-watch going on.
Seeds are being sown. If you’re new to gardening and interested in sowing seeds, do take a look at this post. Anything that is already sprouting is getting a good helping of wool pellets around its base, in order to deter those slugs. We looked at this last month: lettuces, carrots, beetroots - all the hardy veg can continue to be going in. And so can the hardy annuals: those tiny seeds of love-in-the-mist look like nothing now, but in two months’ time you’ll have a feathery green ground cover, followed by the prettiest starry flowers as summer goes on. Marigolds and nasturtiums brighten up the veg patch, as well as putting off pests with their pungent smells.
This 5-plant recipe had lots of fans: if you want to plant any of these shrubs, now is the time:
A reminder from last month to get those plant stakes and supports in. You know exactly what will happen if you don’t: you’ll get to the end of June thinking See, my plants are all fine and I didn’t need to do any faffing around with supports. The minute you think that, is the minute before the next minute when your plants all flop and Then It Is Too Late. There are ideas here.
Can you actually believe that it’s nearly bluebell time in the UK? I cannot wait. There are some wonderful bluebell walks this month, and I’ve listed some of them in the PS section below. Do please add to the list. If you’re based in another country but happen to be visiting in the second half of April, I’d totally recommend a wander through the bluebells.
This next to-do is an absolutely critical one if you’re looking forward to that tulip display that you so lovingly planted back in the autumn: