Gardening Top Tips with Mark Morrell

April 15, 2020 | Garden goss | 3 minute read

Our Head Gardener, Mark Morrell, joined Holkham last summer, having previously held the same position at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire. Mark is a font of knowledge when it comes to all things gardening related, so, in true Gardeners’ Question Time style, we asked him what we should be concentrating on in our own private gardens at home…

1. The green, green grass of home…

Now is the time to sort those bald patches and wear and tear on lawns. Use a fork to lift the ground slightly to aerate the earth, allowing better grass root growth and so healthier plants. Re-seed bald areas, although it’s always best to top dress with some good sandy loam to keep grass seen moist and prevent pests such as pigeons from eating your treasured seeds!

2. Love me tender…

Greenhouses will need to be well ventilated on warm days, but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s summer by leaving them open at night. A drop in temperature at this time of year can severely damage young seedlings – especially tender bedding plants or tomato seedlings. It’s not too late to start tomato plants off from seed either. If you’re struggling to get hold of seed during lock down, simply squeeze the seeds out of a tomato onto a piece of kitchen roll. Leave them to dry for a few days and then sow them straight into compost. I once did this with M&S Santini (Baby Plums). Needless to say, it worked, and they were delicious!

3. Across the great divide…

Now is a great time to divide your herbaceous perennials, such as hostas, asters and delphiniums. When replanting, remember to water-in thoroughly.

4. Stronger…

Use some spare hours to dead head daffodils and tulips. Removing the old flowered heads will put more vigour back into the bulb giving you stronger, healthier flowers next year. If you don’t dead head, the plant will put all its energy into producing seed instead. Also, don’t be tempted to cut away daffodil leaves. Although they can look a little unsightly for a while, letting them die down naturally means your bulbs will be a lot healthier.

5. A matter of taste…

Now is the time to prepare vegetable beds. If you can get hold of any composted organic matter or well-rotted manure to incorporate into the beds, do. If you can’t, it’s still worth giving veg plots a good dig over to loosen the soil, especially after all that winter wet. You can improve the fertility of the soil by adding fish blood and bone or pelleted chicken manure, both available to buy online.

So, there you have Mark’s top five gardening tips for April. That should keep us all busy for quite some time!

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