Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4

Week 1

General
Pruned back all SALIX and CORNUS varieties that have been kept for their winter stems now that they have started to shoot.

Watered all pots around gardens due to warm weather and taken this opportunity to give them a high nitrogen seaweed feed.

Planted more spring flowering bulbs to replace ones lost to mice.

Started to ventilate conservatory and greenhouses on warmer days.

Tying in shoots of climbers on a regular basis as they are now rapidly growing.

Fed lawns with a granular chicken manure from Rooster.

Lots of border tidying as weeds are growing very fast.

Mowing and strimming once a week at present.

Allotment
PEAS 'Dwarf Sweet Green', 'Purple Podded' and 'Salmon Flowered' planted out from guttering.

1st early POTATOES 'Foremost', 'Vanessa' and 'Winston'; 2nd early POTATOES 'Estima' and 'Marfona' and salad POTATOES 'Charlotte' and 'Nicola' planted out.

All early sown lETTUCE planted out and protected with fleece.

SWEET PEAS continuing to be tied in and tendrils removed.

Glass House
Pricked out PARSLEY 'Moss Curled' and 'Plain Leaf'; CABBAGE 'Tundra' and 'Golden Acre'; BRUSSELS SPROUT 'Groninger', 'Darkmar', 'Hamlet', 'Breeze', 'De Rosny', 'Suttons Red Experimental', 'Bedford Winter Harvest' and 'Brigitte'; 'BROCCOLI 'Purple Sprouting', Sprouting Calabrese', 'Early White Sprouting' and 'Early Purple Sprouting' into 7cm (3") pots.

Early sown TOMATO plants 'Tanaki', 'Typhoon', 'Tigrella', 'Estrella', 'Sungold', 'Vintage Wine', 'Banana Cream', 'Shirley', 'Christmas Grape', 'Ailsa Craig', 'Cumulus', 'Lemon Tree', 'Golden Amateur', 'Moneymaker' and 'Alicante' potted into their final pots (10 litre) with one scoop of Rooster pelleted chicken manure added to the compost of each pot.

Remaining TOMATOES 'Brookes Special', Green Zebra', 'Elios', 'Marion', 'White Wonder', 'Black Brandywine', 'Darby Striped', 'Sweet Million', 'Gardeners' Delight', 'Purple de Milpa' and 'Tumbling Tomato Red' all potted into 10cm (4"0 pots.

Week 2

General
Cut back all PENSTEMON and LAVATERA to new shoots emerging at the plant bases.

Pruned LONICERA purpusii and FORSYTHIA spectabilis 'Variegata' as they have now finished flowering.

Removed protective fleece from DICKSONIA antarctica (tree fern) and LAURUS nobilis (bay) and protective covering from GUNNERA.

Cut back evergreen grasses to regenerate plants.

Cut back ARTEMESIA to a low framework.

Thinned out some of the older shoots of CLERODENDRUM bungei to ground level.

Pruned SOLANUM crispum.

Cut back hard HYSSOPUS officinalis to low buds.

Removed any badly placed or long shoots from all PYRACANTHA varieties.

Watering all newly planted trees and shrubs during dry weather.

Allotment
Compost bin turned.

Strawberries mulched with compost.

Show ONION 'Kelsae'; 'Beacon'; 'Sturon'; 'White Queen'; 'Ailsa Craig'; 'Rijnsburger'; 'Up to Date'; 'Bedfordshire Champion' and 'Unwins Exhibition', BRUSSELS SPROUT 'Peer Gynt' and CAULIFLOWER 'All the Year Round' planted out.

Pea sticks placed against PEAS for support.

SWEET PEAS tied in and tendrils removed.

Elizabethan Vegetable Garden
Black plastic placed over POTATO haulms, holes cut in the appropriate places and haulms pulled through to avoid greening of POTATOES.

Parterre
All beds mulched with compost.

Week 3

General
Mulched PENSTEMON bed with shingle.

Weeding BITTERCRESS from all border to catch it before it flowers and seeds.

The Mediterranean Garden was covered with a good layer of organic matter before rotovating. The pathway will be dug out later and the rest of the area will be used for cut flowers such as DAHLIA and CHRYSANTHEMUM.

Moved tender perennial back into the Cottage Garden greenhouse from their winter heated greenhouse.

Dead-headed DAFFODILS as the flowers went over.

All climbers tied in as they grow.

Grow-through supports placed over taller plants that will need them later in order to stop them flopping.

Conservatory regularly sprayed with insecticidal soap to try and control aphids and scale insect.

Barley pad put into ponds after blanket weed had been removed.

Allotment
The bed allocated to root crops has been prepared for sowing.

CARROT 'Yellowstone' and 'Ingot' directly sown.

BEETROOT 'Tardel' modules planted out.

Gentleman's Cottage Garden
CHINESE ARTICHOKES planted out.

Parterre
Spread compost around all STRAWBERRY plants.

Nursery
Finished potting seed raised plugs.

All previously taken tender perennial and PENSTEMON cuttings topped to encourage branching and extra material used as second batch of cuttings.

General softwood cuttings taken from the gardens.

Show plants having to be moved around as some have come on too quickly due to the abnormally sunny and warm weather.

Glass House
TOMATO 'Tumbler' and 'Tumbling Tom Red', SALAD BURNET, BASIL 'Spicy Globe'; 'Lemon' and 'Siam Queen' and PERILLA 'Shiso Red and Green' sown into trays.

CHARD 'Bright Lights' and 'Bright Yellow' and SPINACH 'Perpetual' sown into modules.

CUCUMBER 'Crystal Apple'; 'Palermo'; 'Sunset Bella'; 'Natsuhikari'; 'Marketmore'; 'Painted Serpeent' and 'Gerkin National', MELON 'Sweetheart'; 'Blenheim Orange'; 'Lunabel'; 'Petit Gris de Rennes' and 'Carosell Barese', SWEETCORN 'Applause'; 'Sundance'; 'Swift'; 'Indian Summer' and 'Mini Pop', COURGETTE 'Defender'; 'Goldrush' and 'Black Beauty', MARROW 'Tiger Cross'; 'Green Bush'; 'Sunburst' and 'Tivoli', SQUASH 'Crown Prince' and 'Custard White', KALE 'Ragged Jack', LETTUCE 'Black Seeded Samara'; 'Malibu' and 'Fluelle de Chere', PEA 'Kent Blue' and BROAD BEAN 'Crimson Flowered' sown into 7cm (3") pots.

LETTUCE 'Webbs Wonderful'; 'Lolla Rossa'; 'Ice King'; 'All the Year Round'; 'Stem Lettuce' and 'Saladin' pricked out into trays.

LETTUCE 'Bakito'; 'Red Iceberg'; 'Salad Bowl'; 'Red Salad Bowl'; 'Queen of May'; 'Ice Queen'; 'Robinson'; 'Embrace' and 'Burgundy Boston' potted into 7cm (3") pots.

Week 4

General
Deadheading DAFFODILS and any other spring flowering bulbs that have gone over.

Any frost damaged HEBES were cut back to new shoots near to the base.

Ponds are being kept free of blanket weed as it appears.

Borders constantly being worked through to remove weeds as they appear with the old leaves of HELLEBORES, EPIMEDIUMS and FERNS being removed as the new ones take over.

Allotment
ONION 'Welsh Red' and 'White Queen' and LEEK 'Firena' planted out from modules.

CABBAGE 'Colorsa', 'Cuor di Bue', 'Red Flore' and 'Red Drumhead' planted out from 7cm (3") pots.

Radish 'Saxa' sown onto mild hot bed.

Elizabethan Vegetable Garden
CABBAGE 'Marner Langerrot' planted out from 7cm (3") pots.

Parterre
ONION 'Lancastrian' planted out from modules.

BROAD BEAN 'Red Epicure' and 'Giant Exhibition Long Pod' and CABBAGE 'Marner Lagerrot' planted out from 7cm (3") pots.

Ornamental Kitchen Garden
CABBAGE 'Red Flare' and 'Red Drumhead' and BROAD BEAN 'Crimson Flowered' planted out from 7cm (3") pots.

Reclaim Garden
BROAD BEAN 'Giant Exhibition Long Pod' planted out from 7cm (3") pots.

Glass House
CALENDULA 'Fiesta Gitana', 'Pacific Apricot', 'Needles and Pins', 'Golden Prince', 'Flame Dance', 'Orange Prince', 'Atlantis Orange'; AFRICAN MARIGOLD 'Atlantis Mixed', 'Atlantis Gold', 'Atlantis Primrose', 'Gold Galore', 'Yellow Galore'; MIMULUS 'Calypso'; NICOTIANA; MOLUCCELLA laevus; HELIANTHUS 'Big Smile'; FRENCH MARIGOLD 'Red Brocade', 'Double Orange' 'Naughty Marietta', 'Dainty Marietta', 'Red Marietta' and 'Orange Winner' sown into modules.

All CAPSICUM, AUBERGINE, LEMON GRASS and HUCKLEBERRIES potted into 10cm (4") pots.

CAULIFLOWER 'Tulchan' and 'Lateman'; KALE 'Redbor', 'Red Russian', 'Viloet Moss Curled', 'Dwarf Green' and 'Westland Autumn' pricked out into 7cm (3") pots.

ONION 'Ishikura' sown into trays.

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