the turn of March into April

Watch the weather

This utterly glorious weather has been wonderful. Wonderful. Life-affirming. Bittersweet. But there are rumbles of a blast of cold weather. It doesn’t seem to be particularly severe or enduring, but a short and sharp frost will do for the blossom. Unless you are in Cornwall or in another climate entirely, accept that spring has not quite sprung reliably, and keep any tender plants and vulnerable seedlings in a place of safety. 

Weed

I am utterly delighted to say that the bulk of my weeding this spring has been hoeing. This means I am not entirely on the back foot. Much of the soil is covered in hairy bittercress (unintentionally) and phacelia (intentionally) which is delightfully easy. There is one corner of the Dye Garden which is covered in couch grass and buttercups. Predictably, I have been leaving this patch until last, which is a mistake. 

Water

Just a side note in the weather. This heat has brought the tulips on, and they have gone from out of the ground to blooming in about a week, meaning they are comically short. If you want to remedy this, a good water and (if the sun continues to shine) a bit of shade will work magic. 

Indeed, anything in a pot will be absolutely dry as a bone. Water well, but not too often. I have also been moving lots of grasses and perennials around in the beds and they will benefit from frequent watering too. 

Sow and sow on

The greenhouse is starting to feel a little bit like Jenga. There are seed trays and there are pots. There are trays in bags and there are trays under clear lids. A third sweet pea sowing has just gone in, as well as the first of the more tenders (that’s cosmos and nasturtium essentially). I have pricked out a tray of delphiniums but I know there are more to come. I will put those out for the frost to get at the weekend.

If it wasn’t for the frost that was forecast, I would be considering started some direct sowing, if only because I have run out of seed compost. But I will not risk it. Patience is a virtue.

As is restraint. Sow little and often. Hedge your bets. My biggest mistake of last year was to over-commit too early. I had packets with not many seeds in (not mine, I hasten to add) and I scattered some on a seed tray, looked at the few left in the bottom and, in the spirit of minimalism and de-cluttering, thought I might as well put them all in. We all have tins and tubs of old, half-full (half-empty?) seed envelopes filling up our space don’t we? That’s what I tell myself anyway. So I chucked them all on and put the envelopes in the bin.

What a mistake. Some of them I sowed too soon. Some were eaten by slugs. The mouse saw to a few.

But I have learned my lesson. Little and often. A pinch here and a pinch there. The added bonus here is that this is the backbone of successional sowing. If you want one week in late June where everything flowers and nothing the rest of the year, then absolutely sow everything you have in the middle of April. Lots of cut flowers have a seed to flower time of between 60 and 70 days in optimal conditions, so it figures that if you sow everything together, it’ll all flower together. Your garden will look astonishing for a while, and then nothing until the first flush of flowers has set seed, dispersed, and then the second generation has flowered again. Do a bit of all your hardy annuals now, and then do it all again in two weeks, and then again in a month. Throw in a few warmth-loving flowers in at the beginning of May, and you’ll be sorted.

Harvest tulips

I have two sets of tulips. Those under glass and those in pots. The first set roared into life with the early April heat and have been sitting on my kitchen table for at least ten days. My cottage is what is politely known as ‘cool’ because of the thickness of the stone walls. I have to wear two jumpers but the tulips love it. Keep them out of direct sunlight and somewhere cool and they will last for ages. The others look like they are going to be weeks away yet but, as above, they may just need a water.

Other bits:

• Still not too late for sweet peas. As above, little and often. Also, peas for peatops and for eating.

• If you have daffodils and narcissi in the ground, snap the heads off to stop all the energy going into seed production. If you got them in pots put them somewhere where they will catch the sun and wait until the foliage has died back and then you can put them in the ground this autumn.