April is one of the busiest months in the garden. Here are a few tips for what to do in the garden this month:

• Start warm season vegetables and flowers indoors under fluorescent lights for transplanting outdoors mid May after the last frost. Peppers, eggplant, cucumber, squash, and melons can be started indoors now.
• Cool season vegetables like peas, radishes, lettuce, spinach can be planted now.
• Cut back ornamental grasses to within 2 - 3 inches of the ground, if this wasn't done in March. Cut back herbaceous perennials that weren't cut back in the fall.
• Convert a small section of your landscape to drought tolerant plants. Learn more about waterwise landscaping in our short course in April. Check the calendar for details.
• Plant trees, shrubs, perennials, and cool season annuals like pansies. Divide and transplant perennials that have become overgrown.
• Prune out winter damaged branches and twigs from ornamental plants.
• Cool season turf grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass will start to green up. This is a good time to aerate lawns and fertilize using a nitrogen fertilizer. Apply preemergent herbicide to lawn areas to control crabgrass.
• Prune hybrid tea roses before they leaf out. Wait to prune climbing and shrub roses until after they bloom.
• Check irrigation system for problems.
• Deadhead spring blooming bulbs such as daffodils, crocus and tulips but don't cut back leaves until they start to yellow. Check out the beautiful display of blooming bulbs in the Four Seasons Garden at Red Butte Garden this Spring.