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Here is our monthly round-up of news, tips and ideas to make the most of your garden this April!
Spring has sprung at last! April breathes new life into your garden as the new growing season begins – there is plenty to be done to keep your green fingers occupied this month.
With its warmer weather and longer days, April is the ideal time to get stuck into bringing your gardening projects to life.
Both of our centres will be open as usual throughout the Easter bank holiday weekend!
Good Friday: 08:00 – 17:00
Easter Saturday: 08:30 – 17:00
Easter Sunday: 10:00 – 16:00
Easter Monday: 08:00 – 17:00
Good Friday: 08:00 – 17:00
Easter Saturday: 08:30 – 17:00
Easter Sunday: CLOSED
Easter Monday: 08:00 – 17:00
Explore family-friendly Midgley this Easter!
We have two nature trails of differing lengths at Midgley for you to explore, with historical facts about the area dotted throughout – follow the nature trail in search of magical fairies, designed by local artist Lanson Moore.
Our Midgley Centre is your one stop shop for:
• Gardening and landscaping essentials
• Sheds, stores and outdoor buildings
• Driveway and garden gates
• A huge range of timber fencing
• Garden furniture, arches and arbours
• Patios and decking
• Decorative gravels and aggregates
• Sawn, planed and round timber
You can also visit our Little Acorn coffee stop – our vintage horse box turned cafe serves hot and cold and drinks and a variety of tasty snacks, including Yummy Yorkshire ice cream.
The Little Acorn coffee stop at Midgley has recently celebrated its fifth birthday!
Throughout the last five years, it has catered for birthday parties, local walking groups, schools and nurseries, scent training for service dogs, charity walks by rugby clubs, Halloween events for Wakefield Hospice and much more.
The Little Acorn is the perfect place to enjoy a break between browsing our displays, planning your next garden landscaping project or after exploring the nature trail.
Scarifying your lawn once a year helps to keep the grass in good shape, and April is the perfect time to do this, as your grass will be growing strongly.
Scarifying removes excess thatch (the brown material found beneath the green grass blades), which can stop new grass growth, prevent water and nutrients from reaching the roots, and encourage moss growth.
Use a flexi-tined lawn rake to gently rake the thatch, making sure to leave a small amount behind to protect the lawn. Be careful not to rake too roughly, to avoid damage. Work in different directions to ensure the thatch comes out evenly.
You should ideally aerate the lawn after scarifying by using a garden fork to puncture the ground at regular intervals. You may also want to apply a fertiliser to boost healthy regrowth.
BBC Gardeners World Live will be returning from the 12th to the 15th of June, and this year they are urging people across the UK to join the ‘Make a Metre Matter’ campaign.
The campaign aims to inspire gardeners to dedicate a metre of outdoor space for the good of the planet – and can be anything from making a wildlife habitat to growing food. No matter how big or small your outdoor space is, you can take part!
You can also enjoy a 20% discount on standard tickets until the 7th of May when you book with code LIVE20.
Find out more and book your tickets here.
Late April is the perfect time to add mulch to your garden. If you didn’t do it in March, then don’t forget to mulch your rose and shrub beds this month. This helps protect against dry spells and reduces future weed build up.
Remember, mulching is more about temperature than the actual time of year. If things warm up before the end of April, then you’re good to mulch.
We have a comprehensive range of garden compost and mulch available in-store and online.
This includes our top grade, own-brand Forest Mulch – which is made on site and is available in bags or bulk. We also stock the renowned Levington compost, decorative forest bark, farmyard manure and top soil.
The start of Spring marks an important time for birds in your garden. Nesting season is well and truly under way, and adult birds are on a quest to find extra food for their fledglings.
You can help by leaving some parts of your garden undisturbed. If you can, leave some of your hedges and shrubs untrimmed for birds to nest in.
You can also help our feathered friends by making sure you keep bird feeders well stocked.
Discover our full Birdcare and Wildlife range here.
• Tomatoes – Sow tomato seeds indoors. These can be planted outside once all risk of frost has ceased.
• Broad Beans – Sow these directly into the ground. This will result in a fantastic summer crop between July and August.
• Cauliflower – Sow cauliflower seeds outside towards the end of this month. Cauliflowers do best in very fertile soil, and require plentiful watering.
• Courgettes – Sow courgette seeds indoors. When seedlings appear, move the stronger ones to bigger pots and dispose of any weaker seedlings. They will be ready to plant outside in late spring.
• Second-early and Maincrop Potatoes – Second-earlies, or new potatoes, will be ready to harvest in July or August if planted now, and are best eaten fresh as they do not store for long. Maincrop potatoes, which are ideal for baking, roasting and mashing, will be ready to harvest from August to October and can be stored for a few months.
• Garlic and Onions – Extend the cropping period of garlic and onions by planting in small batches every few weeks.
Down to Earth: Gardening Wisdom by Monty Don
The Gardeners World favourite shares 50 years of his gardening experience with readers in this easy to digest gardening book which covers a myriad of subjects, including shrubs, containers, pests and compost, to growing your own edibles and useful pointers on what to do in each month of the year.
Available from Amazon here.
“April is the gateway to the joys of summer.”
– Fennel Hudson
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