Early Spring Garden Guide: What To Do In The Yard And
Garden Now
Can't wait to get back to the garden? Use this handy spring
garden guide to get started. Believe it or not, the key is
avoid getting too impatient and doing certain jobs too
soon.
Early spring jobs: in the yard
- 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.
- Weeds start growing vigorously early, so when you spot
them, go to it. Getting on top of the weeding now means a
lot less work later. Weeds are easier to pull out while
their roots are still shallow in early spring.
- Apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees, magnolias,
crabapples and shrubs such as euonymous 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 its 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 any remaining dead perennial foliage from last
season (trimmings can go into the compost).
- Cut back ornamental grasses to about 10 inches from the
ground.
- Remove winter protection of mounded earth from roses.
Prune rose bushes before they start to leaf out.
- 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.
- 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.
Yvonne Cunnington is an avid gardener and the author of
Clueless in the Garden: A Guide for the Horticulturally
Helpless (Toronto: Key Porter, 2003).
Visit her website http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com
for more flower gardening tips.
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