I love spring! With everyone having to keep “social distance” due to the coronavirus, I have been working my way around the yard enjoying the lovely weather. Things are popping around here, and everything is starting to green up and leaf out all at once. Here are a few hints to make sure your garden is in tip top shape.
This is the perfect time to edge your garden, and give it a nice margin for mowing. I also like to stir up the mulch a bit. It can get compacted over the winter, and stirring it up lets the rain and nutrients get through to the root zone easier. And while you are at it, clean up any of the debris and weeds before they have a chance to set seeds.If you have ground cover, this is the perfect time to pick out the leaves that have blown in over winter and pull any weeds before the new growth gets too thick. I also like to give mine a shape just for fun.This year I decided to increase the size of the garden around a few of my larger trees. I transplanted the lilies underneath this curly willow this past week. If you do this, be extra careful not to change the soil level or to disturb the feeder roots of the tree. I’m adding a light layer of leaf compost everywhere in the newly expanded garden to improve the texture of the soil and give the transplants some extra nutrients.Here is one of my all time favorites of spring — a flowering pear. This is an “Aristocrat” variety, which is slimmer and stronger than the “Bradford” variety. Even still, it has grown very large. I trimmed up the lower branches to open up the walkway and to make it a little more difficult for the squirrels to jump from the tree onto the roof. Last, but not least, if you over wintered your fall pansies, like I did, give them a deadheading to pinch out the spent blooms. They will fill out and give you tons of new flowers! Happy Spring Everyone!
