By Kath Chattelle

I love this time of the year. The days are longer, temperatures are warming up and there is so much new growth in the garden. We have been fortunate this year with such warm temperatures during late March which has been a good time to start on tidying the garden seeing all the Spring flowers coming through and to plan for the summer.
Weeds
Weeds need controlling so act now. It is best to avoid using chemicals to rid the garden of weeds, much better to do it by hand.

- Run a hoe over a bed or between rows to kill most weed seedlings. For maximum effectiveness, choose a dry day with a light wind, so that the seedlings will dry out on the surface of the bed rather than re-rooting into moist soil.
- Hand-pulling or hand-weeding with a fork: Pull up annual weeds by hand before they set seed. Perennial weeds should be dug out with as much root (or bulb) as possible, using a hand or border fork.
- Various hooked, narrow-bladed, or spiral-type tools are available for specific weeding jobs such as digging out dandelions on a lawn.
- For paved areas such as driveways I have found white vinegar mixed with liquid soap poured into a spray bottle and sprayed onto weeds is really effective and you will see results within 24 hours. The recipe is one gallon vinegar to 1oz dish soap, but you do not have to be critical on the amounts to get a good effect.
- Mulching: Use deep organic mulches such as bark or wood chip to smother weeds around plants. To be effective, keep them topped up to a minimum depth of 10-15cm (4-6in) to smother established annual weeds.
Plant seed potatoes outside
Make a narrow trench 12 cms deep. Check the seed potatoes carefully before planting choosing those that have several strong shoots, this should give you a good crop. Reject any that show signs of rot. Space the seed potatoes 40 cms apart directly in the bottom of the trench.

Carefully draw a good layer of earth over them so you end up with a prominent ridge. As the potato plants grow, they will need earthing up, to protect early shoots from frost damage and to ensure the developing potatoes are no exposed to light. Keep the plants well-watered. First early potatoes should be ready to lift in June and July.
Perennials
April is the best month for planting perennials, the risk of frost is decreasing, and the soil is warming up. These type of plants will last for years so it is worth spending time check you have the right conditions for a plant to give it the best opportunity to thrive, if it says they like a sunny border ensure that the planting area gets the right amount of sun.

Prepare the hole by forking garden compost or well-rotted manure into the base. If the plant is pot bound loosen the roots gently so they will row out into the soil. Put the plant in making sure it sits at the same depth as in the original pot. Firm the soil in around the plant to get rid of air pockets and water well.
Plant Gladioli
Planting these bulbs in April can give you a spectacular display of colour from midsummer. Make sure you buy corms that are large and firm. Choose a sunny site with free draining soil and plant corms at weekly intervals over the next few weeks so you should have continuous flowering through July and August. Plant the corms in groups for impact. If you intend to leave the corms in the ground over winter plant them at least 20 cms deep to avoid frost damage.
Peonies
Cut back old peony stems as they should be sending up new shoots and the old ones can be removed, cut the old stems as close to the base as possible to leave a tidy stump free plant. These plants usually need a plant support putting in to display the beautiful blooms to their best.
Sweet peas
Plant sweet peas at the base of wigwams or obelisks.
Primroses
Deadhead primroses and pick off diseased and yellow leaves.

Look after spring bulbs
Give spring flower bulbs regular food and water this month. Apply liquid tomato feed every two weeks to promote development of the bulb and future flower production. Water your bulbs well in dry weather especially the ones in pots. Pick off faded flowers regularly so plants do not waste energy forming seedheads. Water and feed bulbs until the leaves die down naturally. Do not tie or cut off green foliage as it will starve the bulb of nutrients.