A View From The Potting Shed

Days are longer, the sun is warmer, and gardens everywhere are springing into growth to greet the lovely month of April. Gardeners will be busy this month prepping, planting and pruning, especially those who generously open their gardens to support the NGS – National Garden Scheme, and other local garden viewing initiatives. The NGS, dating back to 1927, has its roots in Victorian District Nursing. It’s an interesting history of an idea that grew and blossomed into today’s major funder, donating millions to nursing and health charities. Garden visiting is a joy on a sunny afternoon; wandering pretty paths with a friend, admiring blooms, collecting ideas for your own plot, and sometimes the opportunity to chat with the owners or buy plants raised in the garden. Add a little sit down with tea and home-made cake and

wh at to do JOBS TO DO In APRIl

3Attend to your lawn – scarify to remove thatch and moss, and use a high nitrogen spring lawn fertiliser. If moss is a problem choose a combined fertiliser and moss killer. Apply lawn dressing (a fine sandy top soil) mixed with grass seed if lawn is sparse. 3 Tender bulbs including gladioli and nerine can now be planted out. Plant on coarse grit in heavy soil. 3 Sow annual ornamental grass seeds now. Flower and seed heads will be useful for arrangements. 3 Prune forsythia immediately after flowering.

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you have a winning formula. COVID-19 upset last year’s open gardens, and this year we must continue to follow government rules, but NGS is open for business, and I for one will be pre-booking some viewings.

The grass isn’t necessarily greener, sometimes it’s yellow, or red, or even zebra striped. Ornamental grasses come in a myriad of varieties and colours, tall and short, annual and perennial, and most are low maintenance and easy to grow. No wonder they have grown in popularity in recent years and are widely available. There is an ornamental grass for nearly every garden situation; sun and shade, in borders, gravel gardens, containers, or as a specimen plant. I remember from my childhood the towering Cortaderia selloana (pampas grass) in my great aunt’s country garden, where it had pride of place in the lawn to show off its feathery white plumes. These plumes are apparently now much sought after for flower arranging and internal décor. If you are looking for some grassy impact in your garden Stipa gigantea (golden oats) will add height and airy movement to a sunny border. Or maybe try Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ (feather reed grass), a tall, erect grass providing a strong winter presence. Winter interest is in fact another good reason to feature grasses in your garden. Try Stipa tenuissima ‘Pony Tails’ (aka Mexican feather grass – see picture) a more compact grass with attractive feathery seed heads that last into the winter. With so much to choose from it’s worth a bit of research to find your ideal grass.

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ORnAMenTAl GRASSeS

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