Seasonal Changes in the Garden - April 2021

This series was intended as a regular monthly post! If I manage to whizz through the year to date then November and December might be reported in a timely manner! I have also decided to add a few weather details for each month so this becomes more of a phenological record; see end of post for this information. When I get time, I will update the earlier posts for January, February and March.

April 1st in the Garden. The flowering cherries, daffodils, tulips and primulas add colour and important nectar sources for bees and other pollinating insects. The small Stella cherry tree (left of the flowering cherry) is also in bloom promising sweet cherries in summer.

By April 20th, the cherry tree blossom is past its peak and it is apple blossom time. The Rev W Wilks apple tree (front left) is biennial and this is its fruiting year. It produces a heavy crop of cookers/eaters, which cook to a pale yellow froth with a delicate aromatic flavour, on a small compact tree. In front of the flowering cherry, the crab apple tree is just starting to flower and the red acer begins to leaf up.

A week later (27th April) and our miniature Golden Delicious (next to the Rev W Wilks) is now in full flower along with the crab apple. The Golden Delicious tree is the oldest and smallest fruit tree in the garden. We bought it in 2003 or 2004 specifically for a wassail party; its stunted growth is at least partly down to spending quite a few years in a pot before a place could be found in the ground. The red acer is leafing up nicely. In the background, beyond the green shed, is our red crab apple tree in full bloom. The daffodils have finished but the tulips continue to give excellent value.


Finally, it is the end of April (30th) and the garden is looking very different to the beginning of the month; lusher and greener but still developing.



 Weather data are from my Davis Vantage Pro 2 Plus weather station. Sunshine hours are estimated using monthly total solar radiation values.

Here is the April 2021 weather summary for a Hereford (UK) town garden. Equivalent weather values for April 2020 (last year) are in red for comparison.

April 2021 (2020)

Weather Parameter

Value

Dates

Average Monthly Temperature 

8 oC (12 oC)


Maximum Monthly Temperature

20 oC (30 oC)

19th, 20th, 23rd

Minimum Monthly Temperature

- 1 oC (-1 oC)

6th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 17th

Number of Air Frost Days

9 (1)

4th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th

Number of Hot Days (> 25 oC)

0 (7)


Monthly Precipitation

8.0 mm (73 mm)


Greatest 24 h Precipitation

5.2 mm (48.4 mm)

27th - 28th

Number of Dry Days

26 (22)


Monthly Sunshine Hours (estimated)

180 (174)


Average Wind Speed

3 km/h (3 km/h)


Highest Wind Speed

35 km/h (39 km/h)

5th, 6th

Maximum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)

1035.5 hPa (1031.5 hPa)

15th

Minimum Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)

1006.5 hPa (990.7 hPa)

28th

Average Barometric Pressure (Sea Level)

1023.6 hPa (1017.4 hPa)


In comparison to 2020, this April (2021) was a cold, dry month with a significant number of Air Frost Days. Overall a difficult month for gardeners lacking both warmth and rain. 

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