The garden is now a mass of activity as warmer days encourage growth. Spring bulbs are making way and early summer flowering shrubs start to perform

Borders

Plant Gladioli's in a sunny part of the garden, in well drained soil
Continue sowing seed for the flower garden, particularly bedding
Plant Alpines for spring and early summer flowers
Applying a good mulch now will help suppress weeds and retain moisture later on.
Sprinkle Rose fertiliser around Roses.
Using a slow release fertiliser now, such as fish blood and bone, will improve plant performance, both flowering and growth.
Remove dead flowers from spring bulbs and feed plants with fertiliser
Wait until the leaves of Daffodils and other bulbs have gone brown before you trim them, usually around 6 weeks after they have finished flowering.
Begin spraying Roses to control pests and diseases, organic products are available from your garden centre.
Give the borders the once over, cutting back things like Budleea
Use slug and snail control to protect the plant's new shoots
Late frosts can still cause damage to Camellia and Magnolia buds so use garden fleece to protect plants on frosty nights. Place out of the morning sun in containers.

Fruit and Vegetable areas

Mulch fruit trees with manure or bark, give them a high potash feed.
Check Tree ties are not to tight
Start a spray programme on Apple and other fruit trees to control pests and diseases
Strawberries need to be planted as soon as possible choosing a sunny well drained position
If your Gooseberries suffered from mildew last year spray with fungicide now
Plant out onion sets or garlic cloves
Plant early potatoes now, traditionally done on “Good Friday” keep some fleece handy for late frost protection
If warm enough, sow vegetables outside.
Thin out over crowded vegetable seedlings towards the end of the month
Plant tomatoes in unheated greenhouses
Lawns
Re-turf bald patches of lawn, re-cut edges that have been overgrown
Cut grass with the lawn mower blades set high for the first few times
Apply lawn fertiliser or combined weed and feed to produce a good lawn
Ponds
Construct garden pools and plant Water Lilies or other pond plants
Feed fish if they are near the surface

General Tasks on a good sunny day

Clean paths and patio areas so that they look good and are not slippery
Use a liquid feed on any clumps of bulbs to strengthen them before their leaves die back
Give Winter Heathers a final tidy

Plants which are at their best in April

Amelanchier lamarkii
Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)
Doronicum (Leopard's Bane)
Saxifraga (Saxifrage)
Berberis (Barberry)
Camellia
Magnolia
Pieris
Prunus (Flowering Cherry Tree)
Rhododendron
Choisya
Cytisus (Broom)