gardening

The garden in May

April in the garden

Laura Allison Gardening March 2011

Laura Allison August column

Monteviot - a gem of a garden

June 2010

Gardening April 2010

Laura's column Sept 09

Laura's column July 09

It's happening at Woodside

Laura's gardening column April 09

Let's go eat some worms!

Laura's column August 08

Laura's column - July 08

Borders Organic Growers

Laura's gardening column April 09

Wow, April already - the 'get out in the garden bug' is beginning to bite hard...

* tidy up some of those shrubs by pruning. Hard prune dogwood to roughly a foot from the ground. This will promote lots of new growth for winter interest. Taller varieties of Buddleia can also be reduced in size to promote new multi-stem growth.

* snowdrops can now be divided in the green (with leaves on) as they often don't re-establish well following planting as dry bulbs.

* apply mulch to your beds as this suppresses weeds and keeps the moisture in the soil.

* plant up hanging baskets and hang somewhere frost free ready to hang outside at the end of May.

* apply moss killer then scarify and aerate your lawn. This removes moss and improves drainage.

* frost protection is still needed at this time of the year to protect newly emerging shoots.

* you should now have your seed potatoes. Chit them (this produces heavier crops) and plant out by the end of this month. If you don't have a lot of space try car tyres stacked up (three or four) or compost bags turned inside out - go on you know you want to!

The above is by no means all there is to do in the garden, but hopefully it will give you a few starters.

Happy gardening!

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