by Janis on 25th April 2025 / 0 comments
Sowing seeds for summer
Oh, I love this time of year when so many plants are breaking through the soil of the garden beds.
You so often forget which plants you nurtured the previous years, and you keep your fingers crossed that they’ve survived another winter and will blossom once more. Our stunning Clematis Josephine–Evijohill has just started to come into bloom.
Our forget-me-nots return year after year; they are beautiful and always add a reliable splash of colour throughout most of the garden. Also, all our roses are looking magnificent; the cooler months haven’t affected them too harshly at all, and there is lots of new growth.
I have my suspicions that the hedgehogs may be back in the garden, so I think we’ll have to place the Trail Camera back out onto the patio of an evening.
Pinterest?
Why not Pin it for later?
New addition to the garden
What we’ve been up to in April
In the garden and on the websiteNow that the evenings are longer in the UK and the weather is gradually getting warmer, we’re out in the garden more and enjoying our conservatory. The conservatory is a lovely place to sit on spring evenings, especially when you can hear the birds chirping.
Cottage Garden bursting with life
Returning heuchera
As I’ve previously mentioned, our irrigation system has now been turned on, and our patio pots are beginning to flourish. It really is a winner having the irrigation system; although it may be a bit of an expense upfront, it is fantastic. You don’t have to worry if you go away, and if there is a hosepipe ban, it is fine, as the system is drip-fed, which is usually accepted by your local water provider.
Returning Lupins
In April, I also sowed the majority of our seeds for the coming months. I always sow tomato and chilli seeds; however, I also sow a mixture of seeds for the Cottage Garden bed.
So, this year, I have four varieties of tomatoes, mainly cherry tomatoes, which are Gardener’s Delight, Red Cherry, Black Moon, and Sun Baby. The three chilli varieties are Hungarian Hot Wax, Scotch Bonnet, and Cayenne Hot Lemon.
Tomato seedlings
The flower seeds for our cottage garden bed are Aquilegia Caerulea and Mckana Giant Mixed, the Verbena is Purple Elegance, the Foxgloves are Speckled Spires and Excelsior Mixed and the Lupins are My Castle and Chatelaine. The Lupins were actually seeds I collected a couple of years ago from my garden.
I have also sown two varieties of Nasturtiums, Princess of India and Rumba and four types of sunflowers, Claret, Little Doritt, Halo and Giant Single. The sunflowers are coming on leaps and bounds already, and so is the Morning Glory.
I love patio climbing plants, so I have sown Morning Glory, the Split-Second Double variety. I will buy some Black-Eyed Susan as I haven’t had much luck growing these from seed.
In the warmer months, I will scatter more seeds throughout the beds for further colour next year.
Sunflowers in their individual cells
I finally made a decision on the planting of our two front garden beds. I have chosen a centrepiece of roses surrounded by six Hebes.
The two roses I bought are ‘Hot Chocolate’ floribunda plants, and I’m hoping they will look and smell fantastic. The description is that they should produce clusters of very fragrant blooms throughout the spring until the first frost. The pointed buds are a rusty orange opening to a warm, smoky brown.
Tequila Sunrise – Rumwood Nursey rose
I can’t wait to see these roses in bloom. We’ve purchased roses from our local rose specialist before, which have been incredible. The nursery is called Rumwood Nurseries, which is just outside of Maidstone and offers an online service too.
The roses are in the centre of the two rectangular beds, and a selection of different colour Hebes surround them, ranging from a lime green, dusty variegated pink to dark purple.
However, I now think we need some bark on the beds to suppress the weeds.
Achievements for April
Let’s keep ticking those boxesEarly April was delightful in the southeast of the UK, and the warmer weather always enticed us to go out into the garden. So, we’ve been on our knees, weeding and pruning and generally trying to keep on top of the growth bursts in the last few weeks
Split and re-potted hosta
Split and planted hosta
So, let’s see what we’ve managed to tick off for April.
Sown the seeds for the cottage garden beds.
Finally planted our two front garden beds.
Sown tomato and chilli seeds.
Weeding the Cottage Garden bed.
Separated and replanted a large Hosta.
Planted out the 15 new perennials we purchased.
Ensuring we top up the bird feeders.
Keep the garden waste bin as full as possible.
Potted up some Honesty for replanting.
Tidied the herb garden and added a couple of Thyme & Hyssop.
Place the Trail Cam on the patio.
Moved Money Trees outside.
Pruned patio fuchsias.
Lessons learnt & mistakes made
You live and learnTry and avoid using bird seeds that contains grass as it is quite a task to remove it.
Also, be a little more assertive with our Clematis, I probably should have cut them back further, but I just can’t bring myself to do it as I’m afraid they won’t grow back.
Our Erysimum softwood cutting
Our softwood cuttings of Erysimum were a definite winner, we now have four of these in the garden.
Our plans for the coming month
What’s on your to-do list?Manage the front garden beds.
Continue to re-develop the raised bed area.
Pot on seedlings when ready.
Weed the driveway, again using a scraper.
Buy pots to replace cracked ones.
Buy compost for tomatoes and patio pots.
Continue clearing weeds and unwanted planting in the Cottage Garden section.
Purchase bedding plants for the patio.
Bark for the two front garden beds.
Remove the dead section of Contorted Hazel.
Please let us know what you have planned in your garden this month; we’d love to know.
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