Gardening Experts Declare April the 'Most Important Month' for Your Garden
Daily Mail journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission - learn more. If there's any time of year to pay attention to your yard, it's now, with experts claiming April is the 'most important month on the gardening calendar'. April serves as your garden's 'reset month', where green thumbs should focus on setting up their yards for spring and summer. Even if life got in the way of your garden tasks in March and February, there's plenty you can do now to ensure easy maintenance in the months to come.
Jonathan Webster, curator of the Royal Horticultural Society's (RHS) Garden Rosemoor in Devon, said it is the time of 'rapid growth and change in our gardens'. 'Every day we see changes with plants growing, so much colour with a range of spring flowers and time to dust off the lawnmower from its winter slumber,' he told the Daily Mail. Edward Lee, gardening expert at Ryobi, agreed, saying now is 'arguably the point where your garden sets the tone for the entire year'. Plants tend to begin active growth following the winter months, and lawns start to recover. If you get on top of key jobs now, you'll see stronger growth, healthier plants, and far less maintenance needed later in the season.
Below, Jonathan and Edward share their best tips and tricks for whipping your garden into shape to produce an enviably lush space that will impress any guest.
Tidy and Shape Hedges and Borders
'Plants will start growing quickly now, so a light tidy-up goes a long way,' Edward said. He recommended focusing on trimming hedges to encourage thick, healthy growth, cutting back dead or damaged stems and defining edges between lawns and borders. 'This isn't about heavy pruning, it's more about shaping and resetting the structure of your garden before everything takes off,' he said. 'A hedge trimmer and grass trimmer are ideal here, especially for getting clean, sharp lines.'
Prepare Beds
'April is one of the best months to start planting, but preparation is just as important as what you put in the ground,' Edward said. He said to clear weeds and old plant material, loosen the soil and add compost if needed, and plan spacing so your plants have room to grow. Before sowing new seeds and to treat your established plants, Jonathan recommended adding a layer of mulch to your beds. 'Apply a layer of mulch, either your own garden compost, rotted manure, which will help feed the soil, or wood chips, which provide a decorative look,' he said. 'This will keep the weeds suppressed and moisture in the ground.'
Start Planting
'You can begin sowing flowers, vegetables, or adding new shrubs at this stage. Getting this right early means stronger plants and better results heading into summer,' Edward said. You can start sowing hardy annuals, herbs and wildflower seeds outdoors now, according to Jonathan. 'You don't need a glasshouse to grow plants; these are tough and will germinate and grow in your borders,' he said. 'Just clear and cultivate the patch, sow them directly and water as required, many will self-seed around. Many hardy annuals are great for drying later in the season, such as Helichrysum, cornflowers and Nigella.'
Most hardy plants, trees, or shrubs that don't need to be protected from frost can be planted now, as they will get established well throughout the season. 'There's still time to plant bareroot strawberries outside; indoors, it's the right time to sow pumpkin and squash as well as outdoor tomatoes, then they will be ready to plant out once the fear of frost has gone,' Jonathan said. If you have a greenhouse, Jonathan said April is a great time to plant them and shared an insider tip to help them flourish. 'Here at Rosemoor, we plant them with a string under the roots and fix this to the roof, then the plants are able to grow and naturally twist around the string for support, easier than a cane,' he said.
Sharpen Your Tools
Edward said it's important to make sure your tools don't slow you down. Using blunt or poorly maintained equipment makes garden jobs harder and can damage plants. 'Making sure your mower blades are sharp, and your trimmers are ready will give cleaner results and save time,' he said. 'We always encourage actively checking your garden tools before storing them for the winter, to ensure you are in the best possible position in April.'
Protect from Pests
After a winter of heavy rainfall and higher-than-average temperatures, a surge in slugs is expected across UK gardens. The slippery pests feed on all sorts of plants and shrubs, leaving your foliage decimated with ragged holes and young seedlings destroyed. 'For your vegetables and also flower borders, the use of nematodes to control slugs is a great way to protect your plants,' Jonathan said. The RHS doesn't want UK green thumbs to kill snails and slugs, however, as they can provide value to your garden by eating dead plant matter and attract wildlife like birds and hedgehogs that feed on them.
Instead, the organisation recommends choosing plants less palatable to slugs and snails, like those with thick, waxy leaves and herbaceous flora. One way to protect your plants is to water them early in the morning rather than the evening, as slugs thrive in moist environments and tend to move and feed at night. Dedicated gardeners can do torchlight searches on mild, damp evenings and handpick slugs and snails into containers. Then you can place them in parts of the garden you want them to get to work, such as the compost or areas with less vulnerable plants.
Get Your Lawn in Shape
'Lawns are starting to require a bit of attention now; it's a great time to carry out any repairs and sow grass seed on bare patches or even start a new lawn while there is still moisture in the soil,' Jonathan said. Both Edward and Jonathan said that for the first cut of the season, use the longest, highest setting on your mower to avoid trimming it short. 'I always recommend starting on one of the longest cutting settings on the lawnmower and then working your way down,' he explained. Cutting too short can tear the grass instead of cutting cleanly and can create damaged patches, Edward added.
His rule of thumb is to trim no more than one-third of the grass length at a time and to mow little and often. 'Start by giving it the first few regular cuts of the year, keeping the blade height slightly higher than you would in summer, then work your way down to a height you are happy with and maintain through the summer months,' he said. Edward offered his extensive expertise on April lawn care, saying it's all about giving it the right conditions to recover from winter and grow strongly into spring.
Garden Don'ts
Don't rush planting: Gardeners should not get fooled by warmer days, as April nights can get too chilly for more fragile plants and young growths. 'Warmer days can be misleading; late frosts are still very possible,' Edward said. 'If you're planting, keep an eye on the forecast and be ready to protect plants if temperatures drop.' Jonathan seconded this and recommended leaving anything prone to damage until May.
Don't prune spring-flowering plants too early: 'Shrubs and plants that bloom in spring (like forsythia or flowering currants) have already formed their buds,' Edward said. By over-pruning, you run the risk of snipping away this year's flowers and losing colour and impact in your garden. Edward said to wait until your plants have finished flowering to trim them back.
Don't work on waterlogged soil: According to Edward, April showers are fantastic for your garden's growth but not for digging. Walking or working on wet soil compacts it, which restricts root growth and drainage, undoing a lot of any good groundwork you've done. 'If the soil feels sticky or clumps together, it's best to leave it until it dries slightly,' he advised.
Don't ignore weeds: Like your favourite garden plants, weeds establish quickly in April, and Edward said leaving them even a couple of weeks can make them harder to control. 'This is less about avoiding action and more about avoiding delay,' he said. 'Tackle them early while they're small and easy to remove.'
