DAVID DOMONEY'S GARDENING TIPS

David Domonay, based at 1c Atherstone Barns, is a Chartered Horticulturist and television gardener, presenting on ITV’s Love Your Garden. You can read his weekly gardening column in The Sunday Mirror newspaper, and check out his monthly article about growing vegetables and fruit in Grow Your Own Magazine. He also appears as a resident gardener on ITV’s This Morning with appearances on many more TV shows.

This is a glorious time of year as the air starts to warm and the garden slowly wakes from its winter slumber. But what should you be doing in the garden this month? Here’s a few April tips.

Make sure the blades on your mower are sharpened and ready for regular use, because you will mowing again from now until autumn. Feed the lawn after mowing to give it a good start to the year. If your lawn has become mossy over winter, use a spring lawn fertiliser with a moss-killer included and then rake it up once it is dead with a spring bok rake.

Early spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils and hyacinths will have finished by now so go ahead and remove the dead flower heads. But don’t cut down the wilting foliage - this provides the bulb with food in order for it to flower next year. If you’ve got tulips coming through then water them well to ensure they develop straight stems and large flowers.

Climbing plants will start to grow rapidly now, so make sure they have enough support to handle their new growth. Extend your trellis or add more wire to arches and tripods as necessary. Gently encourage new shoots sideways as they grow. This sends growth hormones along the length of the shoot, rather than just to the tips which will encourage flowering all over the plant.