A welcome to April with joy for the year,
The winter has gone, the spring-time is here…

~Phebe A. Holder, "An April Song"

I’ve been working on my garden. I had a new horizontal fence put up in the front yard, Planted roses, spirea, Dianella ‘Clarity Blue’, crocosmias, and lots of tomatoes, onions, and peppers. My blueberries have flushed out with their leaves. I think my Blueberry Gnome inspired them. My granddaughter took my faded light sky-blue capped gnome and repainted him. Bella did a great job, don’t you think?

Florida has two ideal seasons to garden. In the Spring we wake up with cool mornings and end with hot high 80-degree days. At the end of March, North Florida had temperatures in the high 20’s. Wow! Then in the Fall we get glimpses of cooler mornings and end with hot afternoons, yearning for winter. Maybe the heat is not ideal but at least we get two seasons to grow tomatoes! Check out what else you can grow and what you can do in April.

Have you ever seen a garden gate and wanted to go right in? Gates can create a welcoming invitation into a garden. And you don’t need a fence! I give you the details in this month’s design tips.

“Going out to the garden is to go on a holiday; when you travel amongst the flowers; your body touches heaven and your mind tastes the secrets of ataraxia*.

 ~ Mehmet Murat ildan

Seeing beautiful gardens is the secret to knowing what you would like in your garden. It’s how I get inspired and know what to design for my clients’ landscapes. Art in Bloom Garden Tours has three upcoming captivating destinations for inspiration: The Newport Flower Show and Historic Blithewold Mansion, and Block Island, June `9th - June 23rd, 2025, The Buffalo Garden Walk and Niagara Falls, Canada, July 16th - July 21st, 2025, and the Gardens of Scotland, August 13th - 23rd, 2025. For more information: Art in Bloom Garden Tours

*Ataxaria: tranquility of the mind.

National Arbor Day is April 25th, 2025. Before you plant a tree, make sure you don’t make this big mistake. It’s one of the most common landscape malpractices.

Speaking of trees, my Plant of the Month fills in nicely for a showy Spring display for a woodland look. It’s fragrant, has Fall color, and no pest problems. It’s a shrub that will give you a Northern feel in your landscape. Have you ever grown one? Teresa’s Plant of the Month.

Let me know if you are enjoying my newsletter so far, if it helps you. If you have any garden questions, you can call into Better Lawns and Gardens Saturday mornings 7am to 9am 1.888.455.2967 or text 23680.

Have a lovely April in your garden.