Guest Post by Plews Garden Design
How would you like to clean all of these pots?
They are just a very few of the clay pots that have to be washed by hand at Kew Gardens in London. The plastic ones can go in a machine thank goodness!
This year April has St George’s Day on the Saturday of Easter weekend, so with the Royal Wedding as well, lots of parties and celebrations could be on the agenda. If you’re ‘having a do’ or a wedding this year, do remember that Plews can help get your garden looking lovely for all your guests to admire. We offer a DIY or full service to design and fill pots and borders and a quick tidy up if needed: email us for more details. We can offer this service across most of the UK.
April Tips:
· Wash out those pots! Use a proprietary cleaner, or a homemade vinegar/ sodium bicarbonate solution; 1 litre water, 2 tbsp bicarb of soda or a dilution of white vinegar 1:8 in water.
· Lawns begin to need attention; returfing larger bare or moss patches is a good task for this month so the new laid roots have time to establish before the summer sun dries everything. For smaller patches, it may be better to wait until the end of the month so the soil has time to warm up which will aid seed germination.
· Bulbs: when your narcissus have finished flowering, take off the dead flower heads & compost them. Leave the foliage intact; don’t fold it over & tie it, leave it alone so the leaves can continue to photosynthesise and build up the bulbs’ food reserves for next year’s flowers. Only cut back when the foliage starts to brown.
If you were seduced by the little plug plants at the garden centre, make sure you quickly pot them on into slightly larger pots, then when they’ve grown some more, into larger pots again ready to start hardening off next month.
If you find unopened seed packets at the back of the cupboard they may be worth trying even if out of date, although germination rates will not be good you may get a few that grow. However, if the seeds look rotted, mouldy or are soft then it’s probably not worth the effort. See article on web site about seeds.
Gardens to visit this month:
There are special activities over Easter at many gardens, including egg hunts. Kew Gardens www.kew.org has lots for everyone, from chocolate sculpture workshops to the stunning Palm House: check out our photo album on Facebook!
The Yellow Book scheme of gardens open for charity gets into full swing: these include lots of ‘ordinary’ gardens, so they’re great for ideas; there’s usually homemade cake and plants for sale too. www.ngs.org.uk
Enjoy your garden! From all at Plews
inspirational ideas; flexible solutions
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Tags: Blog, Design, Garden, Kew, Plews, Pots
