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Get Your
Spring Garden Growing
The arrival of spring is a celebration for gardeners
everywhere. At this time of year, the local garden centres
are practically mobbed with eager green thumbs looking for
spring bulbs and seeds. Some say gardening helps relieve
stress and brings great satisfaction. But another great
reason to beautify your garden is because landscaping such
as shrubs, trees, flowering plants and a healthy lawn can
actually increase your property's value. You don't need to
be an avid gardener to get a head start this season. There
are plenty of resources available for tips and advice;
your local library or bookstore will have a variety of
books and magazines to help you visualize what you want.
Gardening information abounds on the Internet as well.
The first job for most people will be a thorough clean up
after winter. Unless you were really efficient before the
snow flew, you will need to cut down dead plants, rake
leaves, apply compost, empty planters and generally tidy
things up.
Prepare and plan
Because garden centres are so busy this time of year, you
will need to develop a plan or sketch of what you want
your garden to look like. Break your yard into areas -some
for enjoying sunshine, others for growing vegetables and
others for appreciating the beauty of flowers, shrubs,
trees and foliage.
Plan where your flower and vegetable beds will go, taking
into consideration factors such as sun, shade, heat,
reflected light, wind and soil conditions. Start a
shopping list of what seeds, bedding plants and shrubs you
will need and then head out to the garden centre.
When to start
A good rule of thumb is to check other outdoor plants for
clues. When spring bulbs and crocuses come into bloom, the
soil is usually warm enough to start digging. The ground
should also be thawed enough to divide and move perennial
flowers and herbs, plant shrubs and trees and to start
rejuvenating your lawn. It's also a good time, then, to
prune bushes.
Spring gardening tips
Prepare your flower beds by deeply digging the soil and
adding com posted manure. Loosen heavy clay soil by adding
peat moss.
Plant perennials now and enjoy them for years to come. Pay
attention to the different blooming times and plan for a
sequence of colour all season long.
Tidy up your spring bulbs by removing faded flowers. Don't
cut down the leaves of your spring bulbs until the foliage
turns brown; bulbs need their leaves to replenish food
reserves for next year's flowers.
Plant summer flowering bulbs such as freesia, gladiolus,
dahlias, lilies and anemones.
Plant annuals and vegetables once all risk of frost has
passed.
Continue to feed your neighbourhood birds if you have seed
available; not only will you enjoy seeing the birds all
summer long, but birds help to reduce the insect
population. |
