April: Sunshine and showers
Hi ,
With daylight savings having come and gone, and us now being in British Summer Time, the days are getting noticeably longer, so there is no better opportunity to take advantage and spend more time in your garden.
You may catch me coming to a garden centre near you, as I will be visiting garden centres across the country throughout April and into May. Find the list of garden centres I will be visiting here. Make sure to check their respective websites, and social media, or get in touch with your closest garden centre to avoid disappointment, as some events are already fully booked.
I will be live on This Morning on Monday 8th of April, so make sure to tune in at 10 am where I will be giving my advice on chemical-free pest control in the garden. Also, my new daytime TV show on ITV, Alan Titchmarsh’s Gardening Club, is still airing every Monday from 2 pm until the 6th of May, or catch up whenever you please on ITVX.
I look forward to you tuning in to ITV on Monday!
Happy gardening!
David
Gardening tip of the month
Prune Hydrangeas
By giving your Hydrangeas a prune in April, you can be rewarded with wonderful flowers in the coming months.
Lacecap, Serrata, and Mophead
The faded flowerheads from last year can now be removed, as they’ve done the job of protecting the vulnerable buds. Cut back to the first, strong pair of healthy buds. You can also remove overgrown and some of the oldest stems too.
Paniculata and Arborescens
It is essential to prune back any dead wood this month, and make sure to prune last year’s stems back to the first healthy buds too. This will guarantee larger flowerheads, for a more impressive display.
Climbing varieties
In spring, established climbing varieties can handle a hard prune, but if you prune quite a lot you will find a reduced flowering volume and period for a couple of years. Stagger this pruning over a couple of years to avoid this.
Aspera and Quercifolia
These Hydrangea varieties are quite hardy, and don’t require much pruning in spring. Just a minimal snip here and there of long and dead stems should be all they need.
New Video from David
In this latest video, find out the answers to Google’s most asked questions about Dahlias.
How to make your own garden compost
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Congratulations to the winners!
Keep your eyes peeled for more blogs, videos, competitions and winner announcements throughout April.
David Domoney is a Chartered Horticulturalist, Broadcaster, and Author. David has worked with a number of the UK’s leading garden retailers as a plant buyer and strategic consultant. With more than 30 years experience, in horticulture, David is as passionate about plants now as he was when he bought his first plant at a village fete.
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