by Janis on 1st May 2026 / 0 comments
Yay, it’s BBQ season
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the different seasons we experience in the UK; however, it is a joy to wake up to the sun beaming through the windows and the gentle warmth of Spring in the air. We’ve also dusted off and fired up the BBQ.
Every day, there are new shoots to spot peeking through the soil and beautiful blossoms to admire. Once again, our stunning Clematis Josephine – Evijohill has come up trumps and produced an abundance of gorgeous flowers.
All the roses that I pruned a couple of months ago are looking extremely healthy, along with our two beautiful Acers and our peony and alliums are on the verge of blooming.
Pinterest?
Why not Pin it for later?
What we’ve been up to in April
In the garden and on the websiteWell, we’ve managed to tick off a few things this month, which is all positive.
Yes, it was time to sow my summer seeds, especially the tomato and sunflower seeds. It never ceases to amaze me that, with a little soil, water, and sunshine, seeds germinate so quickly; it takes my breath away.
Sunflower seedlings
This year I have sown three types of tomato. We prefer cherry tomatoes, so I have gone for Gardeners’ Delight, Red Cherry, and Black Moon, and within a week, they had germinated. Although the seeds that astounded me were Cosmos ‘Apricot Lemonade’ and my sunflowers ‘Hallo’ and ‘Giant Single’, which only took a few days to sprout. I’ve had to pot on the Cosmos already.
Expectant chilli seeds
We’ve always been quite lucky with sowing chilli seeds, and this year we are trying some more unusual varieties that we have purchased from a specialist chilli supplier. The company we used is ‘The Coastal Chilli Company’. They had such a fantastic variety and were reasonably priced, and the delivery was speedy.
So, within a few days of receiving them, they have been sown, and we’re just waiting for them to germinate in our conservatory. The chillies that we chose are Roxi, Loco, Vampire, PeppaPeach and Purple Flash. I’ll keep you updated on their progress.
We’ve spotted some self-seeded nasturtiums, so I don’t need to sow more of those.
Our bridal wreath spirea in bloom
Another job that I have finally ticked off my list is repotting some of my indoor plants. I really should have done this last year, but I procrastinated. So, I now have even more Peace Lillies, African Violets, Blue Star ferns, Money trees, and Cacti, that I know what to do with.
Our claret Acer Dissectum
We’ve also tidied up the patio, weeded more of the Cottage Garden and sprayed animal-friendly weedkiller on the drive. Today, I’m having a new potting table delivered for my patio, I can’t wait, photos next month.
Achievements for April
Let’s keep ticking those boxesWe've managed to tick a few jobs off the list for April; however, there’s always more to achieve.
Beautiful tulip amongst Forget-me-Not
So, let’s see what we’ve managed to tick off for April.
Continue clearing weeds and unwanted planting in the Cottage Garden section.
Sown seeds for tomatoes, chillies, sunflowers, Cosmos, Delphiniums, Daucus and Ratibida.
Potted on Cosmos.
Turned on the irrigation system.
Re-potted many indoor plants.
Sprayed the drive with animal-friendly weedkiller.
Tidied up the patio and weeded.
Spring-cleaned the conservatory.
Pruned back the rose on our arch.
Cleaned and used the BBQ.
Keeping the water trays filled up for the hedgehogs (we’ve seen them on the Trailcam).
Cleaned the bird feeders.
Keep the garden waste bin as full as possible.
Captured hedgehogs
Lessons learnt & mistakes made
You live and learnI think I should start sowing my seeds a couple of weeks earlier, to give myself time to grow more if they are not successful.
The joy of Spring
The fallen tree
Our plans for the coming month
What’s on your to-do list?Clear and chop up our fallen tree.
Possibly re-pot indoor plants.
Keep an eye on the hedgehogs with our new Trailcam.
Purchase tomato, chilli & sunflower seeds.
Build new potting table.
Weed the driveway using a scraper.
Purchase bedding plants.
Continue clearing weeds and unwanted planting in the Cottage Garden section.
Prune more of the many shrubs in the back garden and check the pruning seasons.
Replant the Alpine Garden in the spring.
Pot-on new seedlings.
Clean out the water feature.
Clear more of the old, raised beds.
Clean patio table.
Tidy front garden.
Please let us know what you have planned for your garden this month; we’d love to hear about it.
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