Mid-spring Round-up: April 2026

Updates from the garden

So far this year the weather in the north-west has not been anywhere near as warm and sunny early on as it was last year. As a result, things seemed to drag their feet a bit in early April and nothing really kicked on. We had some quite sharp frosts in the first two weeks of the month which didn’t do too much damage as the lack of warmth meant there was nothing too tender out yet. Fortunately, during the second half of the month we have faired better with more sunshine, more warmth and (fingers crossed) the last of the frosts behind us. It feels like we’re heading towards summer and progress to be ready for opening for the National Garden Scheme on 6th & 7th June is on track

Lawns

All the lawns have had their first cuts of the year and are looking in decent condition – much better than last year for some reason without me doing anything in particular. They’re certainly not free of weeds and moss and most could do with a really good clear out and over-seed. However, this year is not the year for that as there’s simply too much to do elsewhere and the area involved would need some serious time and organising hire of a scarifier. So, I’ll stick to removing the worst weed offenders and some patch repair in some bare areas which are mostly shaded. Everywhere has been cut and edged so it’s looking smart enough and I’ll get on with seeding now the frost is gone and the ground is a bit warmer.

Splitting, propagating, sowing…and maybe a few new arrivals

I’ve done my best to buy in as little as possible. There is a lot of space to fill, but there’s also plenty already here that can be divided and spread around to fill the borders. As things have naturally come back to fill the spaces since we moved in and the garden has grown up, I’ve taken my cues for planting from what’s appeared of its own accord, assuming that if it comes naturally it will do well. In the end, if you can multiply the plants already there, it should mean a nice rhythm to the planting, a much lower budget and ultimately plants that are already established in your soil and are pretty much guaranteed to get going quickly once split. I’m hoping that this will give me a solid framework to build on over the next few years with some careful additions and improvements.

This month I’ve divided plenty of hostas, geraniums, ferns, tellima, day lillies, iris, rodgersia and primroses. I’ve bought in some ferns, Japanese anemone and grasses and some bare roots of comfrey (to go amongst some hostas) and holly hocks for the back of the main lawn border. I’ve also invested in three hostas ‘White Feather’ to brighten up some shady corners on Lawn 3. They’re still in the greenhouse getting established but will go out later this month(below left). The perennials that arrived as tiny plugs last month have come on a treat (below middle) and should be planted out towards the middle of the month. Finally, the summer bedding plugs arrived and have gone into bigger modules. Busy lizzie, pelargonium, petunia and lobelia to go in the selection of old chimney pots and other pots around the patio (below right).

I figured if I was going to get a bit more serious about gardening I should also try propagating some stuff from cuttings. Following some instructions in the trusted Gardeners’ World magazine I set to work on some campanula that have done really well the last couple of years on the main lawn. Here’s what it looked like:

All seemed to be going great and then after a couple of weeks I took off the plastic bags to air things off and forgot to put them back on over a particularly cold night. Despite being in the greenhouse, I found some weary specimens the next day looking very much the worse for wear. I’ve set about trying to revive them and I think they’re coming round, but they’re a bit brown around the edges so we’ll see if they survive and get established over the next few weeks.

Renovated borders

Last month I mentioned this border on the main law which had gone from this in April 2025…

…to this in March 2026…

I’m pleased to say that several more clearing and planting sessions later, it now looks like this:

…which I hope you’ll agree is a vast improvement. There’s just the far corner now to finish off before the open weekend. Still trying to come up with a plan.

The other bed that I’d been working on last month – down at the bottom of lawn 3 – has had a few final additions and is now taking shape as things start to come up and establish. It’s gone from this earlier on this year…

…to this now:

I’m really pleased with the result and it’s just finished off the planting around lawn 3 nicely to tie the whole thing together.

Stars of the show in April

Here are some of the plants that have been at their best in April. See the mid-spring page in The Gallery for more photos from this month.

Jobs ahead for May

I can’t believe this is the last full month before the opening with the National Garden Scheme – only 5 weeks to go. I’m pleased that everything seems to be on track so no panic – yet. There will be things to keep on top of and a few last planting jobs, but mostly it’s just watch it all come together – I hope.

Most of the main planting is now done. A few last bits to go in and all the young perennials that came as plugs are to go in within the next month. That will be a nice job to do and I’m looking forward to planning where they’ll all fit in. I might to a bit of last minutes shuffling around to fill a few gaps, but by and large it’s all planted up and looking good.

I sowed some Apricot Lemonade cosmos so these will need potting on at some point and I’ll hopefully get them out at some point, but that may be for next month.

The last big job that needs doing is a cleaning job – the bottom pond needs dredging of winter leaves and debris. It’s a job I’ve been putting off, but it desperately needs doing now. Waders on.

Farewell to April…

And so April is done. A chilly start has given way to better weather and the sense that summer is on the way. Still lots to do before opening on 6th & 7th June though, so summer can’t come too quickly.