April: the lazy gardener's guide

● Sow easy edibles - borage, nasturtium and marigold - in a spare patch of ground. Even iceberg lettuce looks glamorous next to a few colourful petals. Read: how to grow borage

● Grow salad leaves in an old fruit crate or wine box against a sunny house wall. For colour, plum-edged Lettuce Quattro Stagione; for crunch, Little Gem; for flavour, annual rocket or Giant Red Mustard. Read: growing summer salad

● Rake over, weed and feed the lawn before mowing for lush grass this summer. Read: 10 steps to a luscious lawn

● For carrots that thrive in containers, sow short round Parmex carrots in a pot or windowbox. They don’t need the depth of their longer relatives and are easier to grow.

● Pull together a hotchpotch border by running a ribbon of easy-grow plants through it. Try blue-flowered Geranium Brookside, felty-grey Stachys byzantina, ornamental grasses or purple pompom alliums.

● Scatter a general fertiliser around the base of shrubs and roses to help them thrive.

April project: an aromatic fruit cup
Plant up a hanging basket with strawberries and pineapple mint – you’ll have garnishes for a refreshing summer drink within easy picking distance. Pop in a seed or two of blue-flowered borage so you have the best bloom for Pimm’s, too. Read: how to plant up a hanging basket

Read: how to grow strawberries

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