April means Spring to us on Cape Cod…So get out the garden tools and take advantage of any nice days we have.  Before you know it, Spring will turn to Summer and you’ll want to enjoy the Cape and all it has to offer.

*Stake your perennials before they get too tall.

*Start pruning roses.  Remove all dead and diseased wood first.  Your Hybrid Tea Roses can be cut back hard to the new shoots starting to show. Other Roses, such as Knock- Out Shrub Roses can be pruned back to eight inches.  Fertilize before buds begin to bloom.  Using a systemic fertilizer will help prevent insect infestation later in season as well as feed you’re Roses.

*This is also a good time to plant new Roses before buds swell and growth starts.  If you have not tried the Knock-Out Rose family give them a try as they have the most

resistance to black spot. And they flower all season long with proper deadheading.

*Start seeds indoor of warm season plants. When danger of frost has passed and the beds have started to warm, plant annual seeds of zinnias, cosmos, asters, marigolds, morning glories outside.

*Give all your bulbs outside-Daffodils, Crocus, Tulips-food once they stop flowering.  Deadhead them but do not cut off the green as they will also provide food for the bulbs.

*The months of April thru May are ideal for pruning your evergreens.  Remove all dead, diseased and unsightly branches.

*Prune Forsythia after flowering.

*April, the time to look at your gardens and see where you may need to plant some 

  flowering bulbs. All the nurseries have bulbs in like lilies, dahlias, and gladiolas. Add

  bulb fertilizer to processed manure and peat moss when putting them in the ground. Do not plant cannas, caladiums, elephant ears or begonias out till after all danger of frost has passed.  These are all bulbs your have to treat as tender but you can over winter them for the next season.

*Divide perennials-daylilies, iris, phlox, daisies- if you can not use, friends would love to have them.

*When danger of frost has passed remember to move your stored geraniums and fuchsias outside.  Time to feed, trim back and if necessary re-pot.

*Time to think about your container gardens and window boxes.  A soil mix of peat and fertilizer and Soil Moisture is a good idea. Window boxes and containers are just smaller gardens so experiment with all the new annuals out them and try some tropical houseplants in them also…are creative.

*For those of you who have water gardens on your property, like myself, now is the time to check all pond equipment and make sure it is running properly and is clean.  Remove all debris from the winter that is in pond-dead plants, leaves, fish- to prevent decomposition and contamination of the pond water.  If we have warm days you will

start to notice the water garden start to come alive.  Fish will start coming to the surface and plants will start to grow.  Be sure to start monitoring water levels so to avoid upsetting the eco system.

Feel free to call me or email me with questions or to set-up a time to get together to discuss planting and design ideas.           ENJOY, CHERYL

Feel free to call me or email me with questions or to set-up a time to get together to discuss planting and design ideas.  If anyone feels like wandering in my gardens let me  know, my yard is always open just for sitting.         ENJOY, CHERYL