My Garden This Month - April | Renovation Bay-Bee

Landscaping

When I trimmed back my passion flower from last years growth it left a big open space to the side of the patio. Last summer we installed some trellis which gave me a perfect opportunity to grow up some plants and use as screening from the neighbours and the side of their conservatory.

Like this, it looks terrible too and full of old-growth and dying back.

A light grey outdoor sofa sits in front of a white lattice fence covered with green leafy vines and bamboo plants, creating a tranquil April garden scene as sunlight casts gentle shadows across the area.

But once cut back it left it all exposed again, and would be a good couple of months until it was covered again. Also, it grows so much, that it probably was growing over the neighbour’s side a lot.

A modern outdoor patio with grey wicker seating, a red brick wall, large windows, green plants, and a blue sky on a sunny April day. There is a white lattice privacy screen and a garden bed perfect for gardening along the side.

So we decided to extend the screening across the middle and built ourselves a slatted panel to attach in-between. But I wasn’t too keen on the colour against the new fence colour (nude taupe instead of blue!)

So we got painting the old trellis!

Two people are installing a lattice fence panel in a sunny garden. One stands and holds the panel, while the other kneels on a stepladder; both work together beside a patio seating area and green plants during their April monthly gardening.

Once the darker coloured paint was on, (Cuprinol Urban Slate) I was instantly happier with it, it gives a nice contrast and pulls in the colour of the sofa.

A patio garden with wicker furniture, a blue towel and garment on the ground, green plants along a fence, and black trellis screens attached to a red-brick house basking in the April sun.

My new pink tulips look lovely against this colour too

A small April garden bed with pink tulips and orange lilies grows beside a trellis screen and green shrubs, set against a white fence and brick house under a blue sky.

We built the screening with exterior battens with a gap in-between each one, painted it up before hanging and then attached it to the original framework.

A modern patio with a grey wicker L-shaped sofa, light stone flooring, tall fence panels, lush garden plants, and a sun umbrella. The sun is low in the April sky, casting warm light over the inviting outdoor space.

It screens off nicely now, I love the contrast against the new fencing colour and a nice base for my plant to grow against and not throw to the other side as much I hope.

A modern patio with grey wicker seating, a trellis screen, and glass doors. The foreground garden blooms with April tulips and daffodils, accented by a decorative vertical garden mirror.

New Fencing Colour!

I took so long to pick the new fence colour! I went around in circles with different brands, colours, do I go dark all over or lighter. If light what type of light and yes my fence looked very colourful!

A wooden fence in a garden displays four horizontal paint swatches on each side of a vertical plank, featuring shades of navy, cream, beige, brown, and black. April leaves and wood are visible at the bottom.

In the end I went for Protex Nude Taupe which is the 3rd down on the left, a sandy beige colour that I thought would work nicely with the greys, beige patio tiles and then against all my colours of my plants. It seemed a very warm colour and that’s what I was looking for. As a brand of paint as well they seemed to be getting good reviews, and also it went on really nicely against the old blue paint.

In April, my garden features light blue wooden fencing, a few small trees and shrubs, a patch of grass, and a tall insect hotel made of bricks and wooden planks set against the fence. A hand holds a paintbrush and a tin of Protex Royal Exterior wood paint in front of a blue wooden fence and a leafy garden, ready for some April gardening.

So then was the task of getting them painted! It’s a big job and due to my back issues, I can’t go mad and get loads done at one time. So I decided I might as well use the sample colour to start the trellis! I wanted to focus on the areas that the plants we’re growing against first as they will soon be covered up and will make the job very hard work. This little sample pot did one coat all along with the trellis detail, I was pretty impressed and a good job is done!

Then the rest of the paint arrived!!!! Look at the size of this tub, I was shocked! I ordered 25 litres as we worked it out how much we would need, but I thought they would arrive in x5 5 litre tubs!!! Not this big!

This tank of paint is so heavy there is no chance of me even attempting to do anything with it! So Kev decants it into smaller pots that I can then use and carry around easily to paint the fences.

So I purchased this nifty gadget and extra pots to decant the paint into, its like a tray that you slip the pot into and then belt around your waist, then you don’t even have to hold the paint pots.

I also got myself a helper to do the big new pack panels at the top of the garden!

These we’re the brushes I used, the bent handled 4″ one is amazing to use. It’s so comfy on your hands and gets the paint on so nicely. I normally get a lot of wrist pain after painting, but I didn’t with this paint brush. So well worth paying for a decent brush to make this job a lot easier! The 2″ one is for smaller areas like the tops and in the gaps that I didn’t get in as easily.

I’m really pleased with the new colour, and 2 coats are enough coverage, even on the new panels, so I’m very impressed with the Protex paint so far.

Flowers In The Garden

Last November I planted up lots of bulbs, at the time it felt like loads! So they’ve been popping up this month and I could have easily had more!! It’s been a burst of colour in the garden and I love it, otherwise, it would have been quite boring out there! I think I can get away with planting some more…..!!

Sarah Ravan Tulip Collection along the top and the bright pink ones in the middle. Little Bluebell. One magnolia flower this year, so I do reckon it needs moving as it hasn’t got enough sunshine. Then some Acers which we love, and a bunch of Primroses at appeared in this pot of Kev’s Mums.

My Clematis that is always so successful is covered in buds and waiting to pop open, hopefully just in time for the girls birthday!!

My new blossom tree started the month covered in blossom…….

Then finished the month all greened up, it will be interesting to watch the colour changes to this tree.

New Furniture

I’ve been looking for a hanging chair or a Hammock shop online that I could pick up a piece of furniture that I could just sit out easily in to have a cup of tea! We have lovely outdoor sofas but you have to get all the cushions out to be able to sit on it, so something more simple with one cushion to get out.

Then I spotted a swinging chair on Amazon. They’ve been really hard to get hold of, so I grabbed my opportunity, really thinking it would never arrive!

IT DID!!!

Was easy enough to put together, Kev did it in about 30 minutes

First one in it…..along with the dog!!

We have spent quite a bit of time in this chair now, it’s super comfy and because it’s just one cushion to get out it’s easy to get out and put away. We have a cover arriving for it, so I don’t even have to take the cushion off. It’s perfect for just sitting outside quickly for a coffee, or my lunch when I’m at my desk.

Everyone loves it!

Seedlings and Coldframe

Kev’s been making me a cold frame from a leftover pallet we had. I’ve been growing my seeds on the window sill and propagator, so I need a little place to move them onto. I’m super chuffed with it! I will give it a sand, fill and paint up to tidy it up, but it works super well.

Potted on some of my seedlings from indoors and it gives them a perfect place to warm up and grow.

I potted up my Dahlias too, I’ve never done that before as I had nowhere warm to put them. But after falling in love with them last year, I had to have some more this year. Their living in the cold frame hoping they shoot soon!

Fruit Trees

I love watching the fruit trees progress throughout the year. This year the pear tree is full of buds and blossom, and at the start of the month, you could see all the buds appearing.

By the end of the month, the little buds have turned into tiny tiny pears!

The apple tree has only one set of blossom on one part currently, hoping for more soon.

So that’s a little look at my garden in April, I’m really pleased we’ve managed to get a good start on the fences and I can start to see some colour appearing in the garden. Come back next month and see what we get to do and what appears in the garden!