April in the garden

Last chance in April

These windows are open now and shut at the end of the month. Missing the close of a sowing window usually costs a year rather than a fortnight, which is why they are listed apart from everything else that can be done in April.

Coming up in May

Nothing here can be done yet — these are the windows that open when April ends, worth knowing about now because most of them need something ordered, cleared or prepared first.

• Sow outdoors7 plants — chicory, courgette, cucumber, foxglove and others
• Plant6 plants — canna, fuchsia, hyssop, lemon verbena and others
• Plant out15 plants — basil, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and others
• Harvest13 plants — broad bean, curry leaf, garlic chives, land cress and others
• Prune9 plants — apricot, cherry, daffodil, lemon thyme and others
• Take cuttings20 plants — aglaonema, aloe vera, calathea, christmas cactus and others

The whole of May →