April 2021

This diary is a summary of our garden activities. The links are to blog posts that often give more detail.

01 - 11 April

We had a snow shower!
Seed sowing has started in earnest
Realigned stepping stone path
Very cold on a night
Perennials and shrubs starting to flower
Very little gardening due to weather and strained shoulder and arm
Summer last Tuesday but winter returns this Tuesday
The only way is up isn’t it?
Out of action
Preparing for winter weather over Easter – video

12 - 18 April

Harvested a tiny cauliflower
Harvested first early rhubarb
Harvested last of broccoli
Planted onion and shallot sets
Planted garlic
Planted Casablanca and Royal potatoes
Planted first batch of broad beans
Planted cabbage, cauliflower and calabrese plants from DT Brown
Fruit trees blossoming but some frost damage
First bluebells flowering at Nostell Priory
Cut back and fed autumn raspberries
An enforced hiatus

19 - 25 April

Visited Nostell Priory
Cleared a prepared more beds at the allotment
Planted Apache and Osprey potatoes
Strimmed grass on the plot
Still very dry with below freezing nights
Sowing more seeds
Harvested red cabbage and tiny cauliflower
Feeling Needled
It’s like gardening in January

26 - 30 April

Crab apple blossom has opened
More bed clearing and rotovating – some beds were too dry to dig over.
Watered few things that have actually been planted
Cold night temperatures are burning new growth
Visited Nostell – the bluebells are out
Lots of things are waiting in the greenhouse to be planted
Tomatoes have been pricked out and are being brought indoors on a night.
Our run of ground frost ends
April 2021 – very frosty and dry