I have been researching spring gardening tips and thought I would share my top five.
I am ready for my garden to be filled with color, blooms, and fragrance. But before I go any further, let me assure you that I am no expert when it comes to gardening. I love having my hands in the dirt- it’s therapeutic- so I am trying to learn more about what I can do now to make it as pretty as it can be.
Below is a picture of my garden last spring. It’s this time of year mine looks the best, so I am waiting in anticipation for all I planted last fall to come to life.
I am reading and researching, and my youngest and I are already planning for a summer garden for when the time is right.
Here are a few tips that stood out to me that I thought might be helpful to you as well:
1. Create a composting area
This is something I really want to begin doing. The compost can be a ready-made compost bin or we can build a compost bin using spare bits of wood. Not only will we have somewhere to put garden waste, but the plants will benefit from the rich compost created when it all breaks down! Make sure you have a good mixture of grass clippings, vegetable peelings, paper and wood prunings. To help the process along, turn the compost with a garden fork each month to keep it aerated.
2. Prep the beds.
Remove winter mulch, leaves and any other debris from your beds. Cut back the old dead growth of deciduous grasses and perennials to make room for the new growth. Any weeds that appear in your garden will be easiest to pull now, as the roots are shallow. I have done this and am making one more go around this weekend.
3. Fertilize the soil
Make sure your soil is properly balanced and ready for new plants. Once the beds are all cleaned out, it’s time to till the ground. This will help aerate and loosen up soil that has compacted over the winter, which will encourage the soil to absorb nutrients better. It will also make it easier to plant.
4. Prune
It’s time to prune back tree or shrub branches have been damaged by the cold, snow, and wind. Make sure to do so before buds begin to break into bloom or you’ll stress the tree and get a tiny crop, if any. Use a handsaw for any tree or hedge larger than ½ inch in diameter. Shaping hedges with hand pruners, rather than electric shears, prevents a thick outer layer of growth that keeps sunlight and air from reaching the shrub’s center.
5. Order bulbs and seeds
Decide now what flowers and plants you want in your summer garden. Order the seeds or the bulbs from a local plant shop like my local favorite Leaf and Petal or online. Hold onto the seeds and bulbs until the warmer weather arrives, but make sure that the seeds and bulbs will not deteriorate or lose quality if they sit for some time.
Let me know in the comment section some of your favorite gardening tips and if/when my efforts pay off, I will be sure to share my progress as well.
Happy Gardening,
dana
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