With the arrival of British summer time, April is an exciting month in the garden. Many plants are bursting into life and growing at an exceedingly rapid rate so that the garden appears to change daily.
Acacia pravissima makes an impressive large shrub or small tree with a slightly pendent habit and unusual small, grey leaves. It looks great from January onwards when the flower buds begin to form, creating a gentle yellow haze. As spring arrives these erupt and open to produce a stunning display of bright yellow flowers which appear to cover the tree. This species is not completely hardy and needs to be planted in a warm, sheltered position, in full sun, ideally in slightly acidic soil.
Ceanothus arboreus ‘Trewithen Blue’ (Californian lilac) reaches a peak in mid-spring when it is smothered in pale blue flowers, creating a stunning blue haze. This cultivar has bright green leaves and is a vigorous shrub that can be trained very effectively against a wall. In this situation it benefits from being pruned after it has flowered, to keep the plant ‘flat’. Ceanothus enjoys growing in a warm, sheltered situation, so a south-facing wall in well drained soil is perfect.
Epimediums are useful plants at their best in spring when they burst into flower. Epimedium x perralchicum 'Frohnleiten' makes a dense, spreading clump and each leaf is conspicuously veined, the young foliage having coppery-red shading. The old foliage should be cut back in late winter to make room for the new foliage and flowers to be fully appreciated. Epimediums will tolerate shade and this species is drought-tolerant, making excellent groundcover under the canopy of a tree.
Erysimum mutabile, the perennial wallflower, provides fantastic colour through spring - especially when several are planted together. As with all erysimums it forms a woody base, with a neat, rounded habit and then outstanding flowers that open in shades of pale pink, mauve and lemon. Erysimum is a short-lived plant, needing replacing every five years. To prolong its lifespan it benefits from a light trim after it has finished flowering.
Euphorbia characias subsp. characias 'Portuguese Velvet' gives many months of interest and colour from late winter until early summer when it bears striking heads of bright, lime green flowers, each with a dark centre. This cultivar has a slightly lax habit and the foliage appears velvety as the leaves are covered in tiny silvery hairs. It prefers to be grown in a warm, sunny location in well-drained soil and is ideal in a gravel garden.
This very striking Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 'Lanarth' bears horizontal branches which give it a strong shape making it ideal planted in a lawn or open space where it can be fully appreciated. During spring it bears heads of large white flowers along the branches, creating a stunning tiered effect, similar to a ‘wedding cake’. It is an easy shrub to grow, tolerating a wide range of conditions but it should be planted where it has space to develop so its overall form can be fully admired.
Viburnum x burkwoodii ‘Park Farm Hybrid’ is a fantastically fragrant viburnum bearing tubular pink flowers that fade to white. The fragrance from this evergreen shrub is very delicate but will emanate through your spring borders. It reaches about 6ft tall and is useful in mixed borders where it provides good evergreen structure with its glossy dark green leaves.