From flower-gardening-made-easy.com
What to do
in the yard and garden now?
The early spring garden brings
a sense of renewal
to winter-weary gardeners.
If you can't wait to get back to
the garden, use this garden calendar guide to get started.
Believe it or not, the key is avoid getting too impatient
and doing certain jobs too soon. So take time to enjoy
the colorful early spring bulbs - the snowdrops and crocuses,
followed by the daffodils and tulips.
Early spring garden
guide: Around the yard
Photo
by Bill Baird ©2008
Start winter cleanup of
the lawn when the grass is no longer sopping wet and
planting beds stop being a sea of mud. Rake your lawn
to get rid of dead growth, stray leaves, twigs and winter
debris and let light and air to the soil level, encouraging
the grass to grow.
Re-seed bare or damaged
patches of lawn. Scratch up the soil with
a rake first. Mix a shovel of soil with a couple of
scoops of grass seed and spread in the patch you're
fixing. Rake level and keep well-watered until seeds
germinate and the new grass establishes.
Remove tree guards or burlap
winter protection from any young trees or shrubs. Try
not to leave tree guards in place over the summer.
They keep rabbits and mice from nibbling on tender
bark over the winter, but trees don't need them in
summer. They don't allow enough air movement around
the base of the trunk and that can promote rot of the
bark.
Transplant any existing
shrubs you want to move before they begin
to leaf out.
Apply dormant oil spray to
fruit trees, magnolias, crabapples and shrubs such as
euonymus to control scale insects and other overwintering
pests. Use this organic pest control method when the
buds are swelling but the leaves haven't opened yet.
Apply when temperatures are between 40 and 70 degrees
F (4-21 degrees C).
Get your lawn mower checked
and blades sharpened if you didn't get the
job done in late winter. Sharp blades cut better and
leave your lawn grass healthier.
Early
spring garden jobs: In the flower garden
Don't be in a rush to
remove winter mulch or to cut back evergreen
plants such as lavender until temperatures are reliably
warm.
Freeze and thaw cycles
over the winter may given some of your plants
the heave-ho. Replant any perennials that the frost
has heaved out of the ground as soon as you can.
Cut back the previous
season's dead plant material. Clean up old
perennial foliage from last season (trimmings can
go into the compost). Cut back ornamental grasses.
(More
details on this job and care of grasses.)
Remove winter protection
of mounded earth from roses. Prune rose
bushes before they start to leaf out. (More
information on rose care.)
Resist the urge to start
digging in your flower beds too early. You
can damage the soil's structure. If you pick up a handful
of soil, it should fall apart, not stick together like
glue. When it's dry enough, you can start to dig beds
and add compost or manure in preparation for planting.
(How
to get your soil ready for planting.)
Getting on top of the weeding
now means a lot less work later. Weeds start
growing vigorously early, so when you spot them, go
to it because they are easier to pull out while their
roots are still shallow in early spring.
Maintain edges.
Grass growth is vigorous in the early spring garden,
so edge your flower beds with a sharp trench between
them and the grass to keep it in bounds. Repeat this
job a couple of times through the season or installing
permanent edging goes a long way towards having a lower
maintenance flower garden
More
early spring garden tips - how to grow plants from
seed
