Garden Keeping Journal - April Edition
Monthly Tips, Inspiration & Checklists for Zone-7 (and neighboring) gardeners
Not gardening in Zone-7?
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Spring in the high-country can be a wild ride, can't it?
One day you're soaking up the sunshine, convinced spring is finally here, and the next morning - surprise! - two inches of snow and a biting, cold wind greet you. That's springtime in Prescott!
My biggest advice this month is similar to March: resist the urge to plant your tender annuals and young perennials too soon. Even though the warm days might tempt you, remember our last frost date around Prescott usually falls around Mother’s Day. Patience is key to gardening success here!
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Last year this time, I was convincing myself that I should go ahead and get my Dahlia tubers in the ground because it was so nice. Then reason set in and I decided to wait just a tiny bit longer. But this year (this fall to be exact) I decided to try a different approach. Rather than lift the tubers and store them until spring, I left them in place, tucked in under layers of garden felt and a heavy tarp to keep warm and avoid rotting.
It’s an experiment that might be a real time saver if it succeeds. And if not, a worthwhile effort.
April's to-do list is a bit lighter than March's - assuming you tackled everything last month, of course! And if you didn’t, just keep moving forward and do what you can.
April at Juniper Hill Cottage
A few behind-the-scenes notes from the garden as spring begins to stretch its legs.
🌼What I’m Planting
Myosotis (forget-me-not) - ‘Victoria blue’, ‘Victoria pink’, and ‘Spring & Summer’*
Delphinium belladonna ‘Casablanca’*
Antirrhinum majus (snapdragon) - ‘Chantilly Light Salmon’, ‘Maryland Apple Blossom’*
*seedlings from seeds I started in the fall
🌼What’s Blooming
Hellebores - so many varieties showing off
Tulipa (tulips) - ‘Apricot Symbiose’, ‘Salmon Prince’, ‘Black Hero’
🌼My Biggest Challenge
Managing shade and water. We’ve had such a bizarre hot spell recently that I struggled with using frost fabric to try to shade my beds with young plants rather bringing out the shade cloth already. And have done a ton of hand watering rather than turn on my drip system. Neither of which would normally happen until mid-April.
🌼Last Month’s Lesson Learned
I put out a few cool season seedlings - quite small - that normally do quite well this time of year, but I neglected to put out deterrents for the pill bugs (aka, roly-polies). Did you know that they can devour young seedlings in a single evening? Yep. Next day I ordered 3 jugs of Sluggo-Plus! Better late than never.
Lesson Learned: before planting very young seedlings, check your soil to see if you have pill bugs in large numbers lurking.
About These Checklists
While we don’t offer garden maintenance services here at The Whiskey Porch, these monthly Garden Keeping Checklists are designed to help you stay on track and feel supported through the seasons.
Whether you’re handling everything yourself or working with a maintenance crew, you’ll find the tips practical and flexible - especially if you’re gardening in or around Prescott, Arizona, or in other Zone-7 and neighboring climates anywhere in the world.
Each checklist reflects the rhythm I experience here in Prescott’s downtown microclimate, so your own garden may vary slightly depending on your elevation, location, and what you’re growing. Generally speaking, these notes align with USDA Zone 7b.
Of course, no two years are exactly alike, even in the same zone. Some seasons bring an early hard freeze in late October, while others hold off until December. Keep that in mind as you plan your tasks.
These guides are geared toward landscape gardens that include mostly perennials, with a sprinkling of annuals, veggies and herbs.
Let’s get to it!
