Garden Tips

[The March Hare]

Pots, trays and modules
Bedding plants can be bought ready to plant out in pots, trays or individual modules. Trays containing lots of plants are usually cheaper than individual modules, but their roots are often damaged when they are pulled apart at the time of planting. However, in individual modules, or cellular trays, plants develop their own root systems, which makes them healthier.

Planting summer bedding
The young plants will have been kept in warm conditions, so slowly acclimatise them, or harden them off, before planting outside. This can be done by placing the plants in a cold frame for a couple of weeks. Create a gentle mound in the centre of the flowerbed for a better visual display

[The March Hare]

Growing tips
Water plants regularly in summer. Plants in containers and hanging baskets will need particular attention in dry, hot weather. This could be as much as twice a day.
Apply a liquid feed to plants once a week.
Remove dead flowers

[The March Hare]

Jobs to do in April

Flower Garden
Prune shrubs
Many shrubs will benefit from a trim this month to keep them tidy and encourage new growth. Shorten the shoots of cape fuchsia, cutting back to strong sideshoots, shaping the plant and relieving congestion. Trim over lanky winter-flowering jasmine, Jasminum nudiflorum plants and tie in long shoots to their supports to tidy the display.

Hard pruning
Hard prune tall old stems on Buddleja davidii, Leycesteria formosa and other fast-growing shrubs that flower on new wood. Many dogwoods and willows, grown as clumps and valued for their colourful winter stems, should also be cut back hard now, right down to a stubby base, about 30cm (12in) from the ground. Other shrubs that respond well to hard pruning include the golden-leaved elder, smoke bush and purple hazel, which will then produce fresh young growth and often brighter and larger leaves.

Keep spring pots looking good
A little attention to spring-flowering pots will ensure they look their best right through until May. Pick off dead flower-heads from primulas and winter-flowering pansies to encourage plants to develop further flowers. Also pick off the faded heads from spring bulbs, such as daffodils, but leave their foliage intact. Compost in pots can also dry out, so check with a finger to see how moist it is, and water well if it has dried out.

Heathers
Clip old flowers off winter-flowering heathers. Take care not to trim back into old wood.

Soil preparation
Continue forking over the soil between shrubs, teasing compost into the surface. Prepare areas where summer bedding will be planted out in late May.

Roses
Complete rose pruning in March before they start into strong growth. Shorten all shoots, cutting back to an outward-facing bud. Learn how to prune your roses with our handy video clips.

Summer bulbs
Many summer-flowering bulbs can be planted in March and April. In mild areas, dahlia tubers can be planted outside, covered with about 10cm (4in) of soil. In cold regions, delay planting until later in April. In the coming months, plant groups of gladioli at intervals to extend their flowering season. Grow lilies in pots so that they can be moved into the garden to fill any gaps.

Boost your borders
If you have any gaps in borders you can drop in your blooming pots or aquatic baskets or they can be dropped into the top of an ornamental patio pot. A succession of these pots will provide blooms right through spring. Once flowering is over they can be moved from their prime location. Keep them well-fed and watered, and allow the bulbs to die down naturally. Look after them well and they'll reward you with more blooms next spring. Alternatively, you can sow quick-growing hardy annuals directly into the soil during April.

Spring bulbs
Mark any congested clumps that have flowered poorly with a label to remind you to lift and divide them later in the year. Give every clump of bulbs a thorough soaking with a liquid feed.

Snowdrops
Divide any congested clumps, spacing out the bulbs when replanting. Plant them fairly deeply, watering in well with a liquid feed.

Mulch
Spread a thick layer of compost or well-rotted manure as a mulch around established shrubs and along the base of hedges to help conserve moisture in the soil and keep down annual weeds. Learn about the different mulches available to gardeners.

Sweet peas
Sow sweet peas outside where you want them to flower

[jj]

If your hose springs a leak it can be temporarily repaired by inserting a thingytail stick into the hole. Snap the stick off as close to the hose as possible and wrap around with insulating tape or waterproof tape (if available). This should extend by about 2" each side of the hole. As the wood absorbs the water it will expand and seal the hole.

[jj]

An old wheel rim makes an ideal storage place for a garden hose when not in use. This can be hung on a garage or shed wall.

[jj]

To "age" new garden statues, smear with natural yoghurt. Algae will quickly cover the item making it look older.

[jj]

If you have problems with moles in the garden, find the run and place a small piece of gorse in the bottom. The prickles on the gorse will stop them returning.

[jj]

Banana skins placed around rose bushes will rot down and provide nutrients.

[jj]

Put broken egg shells into a watering can, fill with water and leave overnight. This will extract the nutrients making an excellent and cheap plant feed.
Bake egg shells in an oven to harden and then place around plants to prevent slugs damaging them. The slugs cannot get over the hardened shells.

[jj]

Vinegar

Kills grass on walks and driveways.
Kills weeds. Spray full strength on growth until plants have starved.
Increases soil acidity. In hard water: one gallon of tap water for watering rhododendrons, gardenias, or azaleas.
Deters ants. Spray vinegar around doors, appliances and along other areas where ants are known.

[The March Hare]

Restore and Protect Your Deck

Have the long months of winter taken a toll on your deck? Is it dirty, mildew-stained and wearing a coat of gray?

Don’t worry. It’s easy to restore your deck to its natural beauty so you can enjoy it during the warm months ahead. And, it’s just as easy to protect your deck so it stays beautiful for years to come.
Clean away dirt and gray weathered wood with an acid-free, biodegradable deck cleaner, like Wolmanâ Deck Briteâ (formerly Deck & Fence Brightenerâ). Deck Brite is tough on ground-in dirt, mildew and algae stains, yet it’s gentle to handle and safe to use near grass, plants or shrubs. Its fast-acting foaming action loosens and lifts dirt, stains and weathered-gray discoloration in 10 minutes or less. And unlike chlorine bleach, which can actually degrade the structure of the wood, Deck Brite’s oxygen bleach formula cleans and restores the wood to its original, like-new look without whitening or damaging the wood surface. Protective finishes will adhere better and last longer.

Step 2:

Protect your deck against mildew attack, water damage and graying with a powerful finish and preservative, like Wolmanâ F&Pâ Premium Wood Finish and Preservative. As a preservative, F&P contains twice the mildewcide of other products to prohibit decay-producing fungal growth including mildew and mold – other leading products simply resist mildew on the coating film. It also contains a water repellent that exceeds national standards, thereby minimizing wood damage such as splitting and warping. In fact, F&P is guaranteed to repel water and protect against wood rot and decay up to four years. F&P is available in four one-coat, easy-to-apply finishes – golden pine, natural, cedar and redwood – that beautify wood with long-lasting, transparent color that reveals natural wood grain and protects against graying.

Step 3:

Bring out your patio furniture and enjoy your deck this spring – and, for many seasons to come

[The March Hare]

If you want to use Oasis again store it in water. If it is allowed to dry out it will not absorb the water properly the next time it is used

[The March Hare]

To keep plants watered whilst you are away for a few days, place one end of a pipe cleaner into the soil by the plant and the other end into some water. The pipe cleaner will gradually draw up the water.

[The March Hare]

To keep plants alive during a longer stay away. Place a towel in the bottom of the bath and add 1" of water. Place house plants on top of the towel. They will draw up the water whilst you are away.

[juicyjude]

Loved the idea of ice cubes to water the baskets, will try that, what a good idea.[glow=red,2,300]THANKS OUR JJ [/glow]

[jj]

Storing plants over winter

Tender plants in the herbaceous border won't normally survive our low winter temperatures. To keep replacing plants every spring can quickly become expensive. It's often thought that a heated greenhouse is needed to protect these plants. Below you'll see some ideas to safely store your investment ready for planting in the spring.
Pelargoniums (geraniums)
In october, dig up the plant or remove from hanging baskets/patio planters.
Put it in a paper bag, allowing the soil to dry out completely. Remove the dry soil as it drops off the root ball. You'll also find that any remaining flowers and leaves will fall off.
Loosely tie the top of the bag and store in the shed, porch or conservatory.
Check the plant regularly, if the stems begin to shrivel, mist with a water spray.
If there's signs of mould, open the bag, allowing any moisture to escape.
In the spring, plant up, water well and cut the stems to 6ins (15cm).
Dahlias
Update: Recent trials have found that it isn't necessary to lift and store Dahlia tubers. They will survive left in situ with a mulch of straw covering them. Remember to put slug pellets down in the spring, to stop slugs eating the new shoots. Note that this trial was done over a relatively dry winter. Wet freezing winters may still kill plants left in the ground, so it might be worth saving a few plants using the method below:

Dig up dahlia tubers after flowering or after the first frost.
Cut any stems to 6ins (15cm).
Dry out the tubers by placing them upside down in a dry cool place for a couple of days.
Remove any soil, any diseased or damaged spots, trimming and tidying any fibrous roots. Place roots down into a seed tray or shallow box, covering with dry horticultural sand (not the orange builders sand).
Store them in a cool place. Don't water though the winter, unless the tubers start to shrivel.
Chrysanthemums
Treat in the same way as dahlias, except put them in a tray of moist soil compost, rather than sand.
Keep the soil moist, but not wet.
Chrysanthemums can be propagated by starting over-wintered plants off early in a warm greenhouse, when the shoots are a couple of inches long cut them off the main plant at the base, remove bottom leaves and plant in a tray filled with potting compost, water lightly and keep them in a warm, shady position.
Storing seed
Seeds deteriorate rapidly in moist conditions. Keep them in an airtight container in a cool dry location.

[jj]

Garden Projects
Building a rockery


Building a rockery properly to look natural is hard work. Most rockeries are built on a slope to show off the rock.
Once you have chosen the site for your rockery you must then choose the appropriate type of rock either sandstone or granite, imitation rocks are available from garden centre's which are lighter to install and kinder to the environment. The larger the pieces of rock the more convincing the rockery will look as at least a 3rd of the rock will be buried into the slope. Ensure that the strata (natural lines of the rock) are in line with each other and that the rocks tilt slightly back into the slope.
It is best to start at the base of the slope and work upwards in layers leaving planting pockets between the rocks. Alpine plants are used to growing in small cervices amongst gravel and shale which is the environment that you are trying to create.

[jj]

Garden Projects
Creating a compost heap


Compost is one of the best and cheapest ways of adding nutrients back into your garden.
There are four main types of compost bin - tumble bin, prefabricated, heap and build your own. All achieve the same result and use the same basic techniques, layering fleshy organic waste and dryer woody material, adding a small amount of liquid and covering to generate heat.
Pro & Cons
The 'tumble' and 'prefabricated' bins are easy to erect and keep the heat in the heap and the rainwater out. Capacity can be limited with these types.
The 'heap' and 'build your own' are obviously cheap to make but can take longer to produce your finished compost.
Warning - Watch your shins when using tumble type compost bins - if they don't do a complete revolution it can swing back and hit you - I've done this twice now and it hurts like you wouldn't believe.
Making compost using a homemade bin
The heap should be as big as you have room for (at least 3ft wide by 3ft deep and one heap is better than two smaller heaps). It's often recommended that you have 3 heaps, one that you are adding material to, one that full and is cooking and the third that you are taking material from.
Pretty much any organic material can be added, including grass clippings, weeds, straw, manure, shredded newspaper, kitchen waste, plant cuttings and prunings.
Compost heaps break down material quicker if they are built up in layers. Start your heap off with 9" layer of grass cuttings and weeds into the bottom, making sure that this layer is level rather than heaped.
Add an inch of material high in nitrogen, such as manure. Then 6" of course mixed waste, shredded branches, straw, twigs, vegetable peelings, eggshells etc. wetting any dry material.
Sprinkle on compost accelerator - human urine is perfect for this.
Keep adding in layers until the heap is at least 3 foot high.
Cover with an old piece of carpet or polythene to keep out the rain. Rainwater will cool the heap and also stop any bacterial activity.
The compost heap should start heating up and steaming after a week. The high temperatures will kill any weed seeds. Turning the heap every four to six weeks will allow air into the heap accelerating the composting process.
Once your compost bin is full and working, start another heap. If you continue to add waste to a compost heap you will compact it, expelling air and stopping the composting process.
You should have perfect crumbly compost in three to six months that you can put straight on to your beds and borders as a mulch or top dressing.
Any material that hasn't broken down can be put back on to your new heap.
Put any diseased plants and fruit into the centre of the compost heap and surround with green material.
A good compost heap should be an average of 70o C and will kill most pests and diseases.

[jj]

Garden Projects
Building a pondT

Typically the idea of a pool or pond is encourage wildlife to the garden. There are various ways to build your water feature, there is an unlimited number of ways that you would like it to look like. I have given a few examples of typical styles of pools and ponds.
Informal
This is most popular and cheapest form. Decide on the shape and position of your pool or pond and dig. Once the desired depth has been reached you will need to protect the waterproof liner (butyl liner) by laying down soft sand or an old carpet to prevent stones in the soil puncturing the liner. Remember to include the sides of the pool or pond when calculating the area of the liner. Lay the liner over the protective layer, pleating and folding the sides as the pool is filled with water.
The last job is to hold the liner edges in place. This can be done by laying a concrete base under the liner edge and laying paving, brick or rocks around the perimeter.
Formal
Formal pools tend to be more regular in shape either above ground or at ground level. If your pool is to be at ground level then the above method for an informal pool applies but you may wish to use ply board to give vertical sides to your pool rather than relying on your digging skills. If your pool is to be above ground then retaining walls will have to be built in either brick or stone. You will still have to line your pool to protect the liner from being punctured and hold the liner in place by laying a final layer of brick or stone on the edges.
Ornamental
These pools are likely to be kits sold in garden centre's. There is an extensive range such as water bubbling out of a drilled boulder/millstone or water overflowing from a toppled urn, these water features are low cost, easy to fit and safe for children, as the water reservoir is covered with a grill and cobbles arranged over it. The reservoir is a rigid fibreglass container sunk into the ground ensuring the perimeter is level. A plinth or an arrangement of bricks can then be placed inside the container to support the centre of the grill and the water feature or statue placed on top. Cobbles are then arranged to cover the grill.

[The March Hare]

Don't buy roses in tight bud as the chances are they will not open. Buds should be unfurling slight.
Spray dried flowers with hair lacquer to prevent them dropping.
To fluff up dried roses, hold rose head