Seeds to plant now:

Indoor or in a heated greenhouse

Ageratum

Alyssum

Aubergine

Bell Pepper, pepper

Cardoon

Celeriac

Celery

Columbine

coriander

Cress

cucumber

Floss flower, Ageratum

Forget-me-not

Ornamental Pepper

pepper

Tomato

Outside

Alyssum

Amaranthus

Asparagus

Aubretia, Rock cress, Aubrieta, Aubrietia

Beetroot, Garden beet

Borecole, Kale

Broccoli

Brussels sprout

Cabbage

carrot

Cauliflower

courgette

Hollyhock

Kohl rabi

Lettuce

Normandy sorrel

Onion

Ornamental winter kale

Radish

Runner bean

Spinach

Spinach, Summer spinach

Spring onion

Sweet corn

Sweet pea

Turnip

Outside under cover

Brussels sprout

courgette

French marigold

Leek

Lettuce

marrow

Onion

Snapdragon

Sweet corn

Tomato

Shows and events:

Update 18/03/2020
Following the recent Government advice about public gatherings, a number of garden shows have been cancelled or scaled back.

Perhaps we can spend what we would have spent on show admission on a plant order and support a local or online plant nursery/grower/garden centre and have a private garden show in our own garden.
I'll try to keep this list up to date as the situation changes. Regards Nick.

All event details have been entered as accurately as possible, but please check with the event organisers before travelling to avoid disappointment.

Welcome to the UKGardening Internet site.

The UKGardening web site has been running since 1998. The idea behind the site has always been to provide what we think will be interesting and useful information for the novice gardener.

Jobs to do in the garden this week.

• Now is the best time to plant lavender. Widely grown for its scent and foliage, lavender is ideal for borders or a low hedge. Available in shades of purple, blue, white and pink it is a magnet for bees and butterflies
• April is the peak flowering time for orchids.
• Lift, divide and replant chives.
• April is the best time to plant an evergreen, such as laurel or box.
• Remove the dead heads of spring flowering bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils, before they have a chance to produce seed. This will encourage the plant to store energy in the bulb rather than wasting it on seed production.
• Postion plant supports where they will be needed in late summer. Doing this now reduces the risk of damaging the roots later in the season.
• If your lawn is more moss than grass, then treat with a lawn moss killer. Bare in mind that the moss will turn black within a couple of days, so don't be too alarmed. A couple of weeks after application, if you are left with bare patches in your lawn, mix equal quantities of grass seed and seived compost and scatter over the patches, cover areas with fine netting or twigs gently pushed into the soil, to protect from birds and animals. Combination lawn feed and moss killer is available, but feeding your lawn when it's not necessary will encourage it to grow quicker and therefore need to be cut more regularly.
• Transplant any self-set aquilegia, lupins and hollyhocks to new locations.
• Begin regular cutting of your lawn. If the grass is long increase the height adjustment of the mower to the highest setting. Once this first cut has been done, lower the blades/deck and go back over the lawn.
• Sow vegetable seeds (courgette, marrow, runner and French beans) in the vegetable patch and salad seeds (lettuce, spring onion and radish) little and often to provide a staggered harvest through the summer.
• Prune lavatera hard, down to healthy young growth.
• Don't be tempted to buy your summer bedding yet, unless you have a greenhouse, conservatory or cold frame that you can store them in. A late April / early May frost is not uncommon in the UK.
• Cut vigorous climbers such as honeysuckle and ivy back hard.
• As summer-flowering herbaceous perennials start to come back to life, lift and divide overgrown plants.
• Scatter growmore granules under fruit trees and bushes, especially apple, pear and plum trees. If it doesn't rain for a couple of days, water the granules in with a hose or watering can. Growmore is a slow release, general fertiliser, it includes the three main plant nutrients (nitrogen, phosphates and potassium).
• Your pond may have started to turn green and cloudy. This is due to a rapid increase in algae, which flourish in the warmer spring temperatures. Once the pond plants start to grow again, especially the oxygenating plants, these will use up the nutrients and create shade, reducing the amount of algae. To speed up the clearing of the water, drop a small string bag/pair of old tights stuffed with barley straw, into the pond. Weigh the straw down, so that it floats just below the surface of the water.

  As the straw breaks down, it produces hydrogen peroxide, which reduces and inhibits the growth of algae and blanket weed. If the algae is particularly bad, barley straw extract can be bought in liquid form and added to the pond water (follow the instructions on the bottle, but as a guide before purchasing,125ml treats approximately 4,500 litres/1,000 gallons, but multiple, fortnightly treatments through the year may be necessary). If you have a fountain or waterfall, try to position the barley straw underneath this. Remove and replace the barley with new straw after about six months, before it completely rots down, polluting the water.

  The small, pre-filled barley straw bags to add to your pond, cost about ￡2 each, but you can buy a 17 litre pack, which will last a few years for less than a fiver from your local pet shop or Amazon here: Supreme Petfoods Tiny Friends Farm Russell & Gerty Barley Straw, 17 Litres Blagdon Extract of Barley Straw - 250ml

• Prune overgrown or newly planted blackcurrants back hard - almost to ground level, this will 'open up' the plant and encourage new shoots, producing fruit the following season. Blackcurrants mainly fruit on last year's growth. Normal pruning is restricted to removing the old fruiting branches, just after fruiting, leaving new shoots to bear fruit next year.
• Tidy up any remaining leaves and general garden rubbish. It's home to slugs, snails, vine weevil and woodlice and can introduce disease and infection into your garden.
• Geranium cuttings should be taken now. Cut off a 8cm (3in) shoot just below a leaf joint (node), remove all but the top pair of leaves and insert the cuttings 4cm (1.5in) into a small pot of potting compost. Gently water in the cuttings and place in a warm, well-lit place. When they have begun to produce more leaves they can be moved to larger pots, containing general-purpose compost.
• Weed and spread compost from the compost bin over the borders and vegtable patch. This adds valuable nutrients to the soil and acts as a mulch, to retain moisture and reduce weed growth. Ensure that the soil is moist before adding mulch.
• As it's starting to warm up, it's a good time to lay a new lawn, althought the best time is in Autumn or late winter, as it's damper and cooler, allowing the turf to bed in without you having to worry too much about regular watering. See here: laying a new lawn for further information.
• Plant lily and gladioli bulbs in 4in (10cm) deep holes. Cover with soil or compost and gently firm down the soil to ensure that there are no air pockets as this may cause the bulbs to rot.
• Remove algae and moss from patios and paths with a proprietary patio and path cleaner or tar-oil winter wash.
• After a frost try to stay off the grass. Treading on the lawn in frosty conditions can damage the grass.
• Refirm the roots of any shrubs that may have been lifted by frost.
• Keep an eye on the weather forecast. Cover shrubs that are likely to be damaged by frost with garden fleece, sacking or an old light blanket.

Recent articles:

• UKGardening YouTube Channel
• Chitting and growing potatoes
• Care of Hippeastrum/Amaryllis after flowering
• Cleaning patios, paths and decking
• Creating a compost heap
• Removing large branches
• Updated photo gallery