Spring is in my opinion the most
wonderful time of year for
the gardener. You can shake off that winter weariness and get
ready for a new gardening season.
The most difficult part of spring
gardening is trying to
manage your impatience. Don't start digging around too early.
The soil must be dry enough to have it fall apart when you pick
it up. When it still sticks together like glue that's definitely
not the case.
Early spring is the best time of
year to change parts of
your garden design. You can transplant existing shrubs and
perennial plants before they begin to leaf out. This also is the
time to prune your trees and shrubs. Cut back the remaining dead
foliage from last season and remove dead, damaged or diseased
branches of trees and shrubs.
And then flowers! That's
really what spring is about isn't it? There are many that are suitable for
cool spring weather. Think of sweet alyssum, some snapdragons, stock and
sweat peas. You can also start some perennials like hostas and daylilies.
Start some Violets, Marigolds,
Carnations, Geraniums and Impatiens inside to transplant to your flower beds
in early spring. Or if you have some space left in your garden you can set
up a "Cold Frame". Ready-made cold frames are available in different sizes.
A cold frame "captures" the spring sunlight and warms the soil it surrounds.
That way it is ideal to "harden off" houseplants and transplants for your
summer garden. You can use the cold frame for direct seeding as well.
If you have unplanted areas in
your garden a great spring
project is to lay out landscape cloth on that unplanted area.
Landscape cloth is an excellent weed barrier. It comes in
different weights, heights and fabric choices. This cloth can
then also serve as a great map to precisely plant your
transplants.
Weeds start to grow very early
but still have shallow roots in spring so get them out when you
spot them. Getting on top of the weeds now means a lot less work
in summer, and I'm sure that digging out weeds in the burning
sun in not your favorite pastime.
These two measures will
definitely intimidate your perennial weeds to the extent that they will
prefer your neighbor's garden over yours.
And most of all enjoy your
spring garden, watch it grow and blossom into summer!
