Bees loving Geranium Rozanne
Finally some rain! As I write a pathetic drizzle limps down the window, after the wettest winter I can remember it seems odd to wish for proper heavy rain, but it has hardly rained here in Sussex since Covid 19 reared its ugly head. The newly planted borders are parched even with a daily dousing and a good mulch.
I keep thinking thank heaves this lockdown happened at the start of spring and not winter providing a chance to be outside and garden! It's no secret that as a person who likes to do and achieve, not being able to work as normal has been a real challenge. But being able to channel the frustration, anxiety and despondency into growing and developing our new garden has been a lifeline for me. I've learnt the importance to appreciate the small things which added together help get you through the day and how even the smallest posy of picked flowers to bring inside can raise the spirits.
But there is hope! Hope that the greenhouse now full of leafy tomatoes, cucumber and peppers will bear fruit. That the recently planted annuals and perennials will fill out
and the new border vision be fulfilled and that the freezers by the end of summer will
be full of beans and berries to see us through next winter.
So what are we waiting for...here are some
ideas of what you can be doing this month
in the garden.
Sow/plant:
Sow more salad, radish, carrots, beetroot direct and fast growing annuals and biennials.
Plant out or direct sow french and runner beans, carrots, sweetcorn, squash and pumpkins.
Direct sow leeks and brassicas.
Harden off plants before planting out,
but watch for a late frost.
Plant out sweet peas and bedding.
Prick out and pot on late sown seedlings.
Thin out annuals.
Earth up main potatoes.
Plant out dahlias.
Harvest/pick:
Sweet peas, roses, peonies, pinks, alliums,
broad beans, salad, radish,
pea shoots, chard, spinach, asparagus,
artichokes, rhubarb, early potatoes as soon as they flower.
Secature/lopper jobs:
Start deadheading.
Chelsea chop late flowering perennials.
Cut back penstemons if not already.
Take dahlia cuttings.
Prune early flowering shrubs once blooms
have finished.
Stake/support:
Start staking tall perennials and dahlias before they get too tall!
Tie in sweet peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, climbing beans.
Lawns and ponds:
Re edge, repair lawns and sow grass seed.
Mow when required but allow it to grow a little longer if it gets hot again!
The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies, but never grows to the enduring happiness that the love of gardening gives. – Gertrude Jekyll