ORCHARD : First Quarter energy is building — a fine moment to focus on fruiting trees and bushes. Thin any remaining fruitlets on apple trees to one per cluster, spacing them roughly 15 cm apart along each branch; the fruit that stays will swell noticeably by midsummer. Give currant bushes and blackcurrants a generous top-dressing of well-rotted compost spread to the drip line, keeping it clear of the main stems. Kiwi lateral shoots can be pinched back to five leaves now to channel energy into fruit set rather than leafy growth.
VEGETABLE PATCH : Before the evening sign change, transplanting fruiting crops is the priority. Watermelon plants raised under cover are ready to go out into their warmest, most sheltered bed — set them 100 cm apart in rows 150 cm wide, with a generous spadeful of compost in each planting hole. Bean seedlings started indoors can be hardened off and moved to their final rows: 8 cm apart, rows 40 cm. Lay a straw mulch 5–7 cm deep around each plant to hold moisture and suppress weeds through the weeks ahead.
LANDSCAPING : Wisteria put on strong growth this time of year — check that stems are tied securely to their supports before the weight increases further. Roses and hydrangeas benefit from a light feed of compost worked gently into the soil surface around the root zone. In drier gardens, a 5 cm bark mulch around lavender and oleander will reduce watering needs through the hottest weeks.
After the evening sign change, the day shifts to a root day: a natural moment to pause fruiting work and turn instead to weeding around artichokes, tidying strawberry beds, or drawing up plans for autumn planting.