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Waiting for Spring Already!
Greetings!
 Silly me. I took off Wednesday from work to get my garden cleaned up. So--of course!--it snowed.
Ah, well. Painting my kitchen was my Plan B. My garden may be a mess but my kitchen looks spectacular!
Still, I'm enjoying the pansies I planted in my window boxes last week. I'm also lovin' the big pot of violas on my back porch.
Wal-Mart, of all places, had the biggest, cheapest pansies--just 99 cents for an oversized 6-pack. It used to be difficult around Iowa to find even pansies at garden centers, so I was amazed to see they had a variety of other cool-season annual flowers-- forget-me-not, annual lobelia, snapdragons and calendua. People must be catching on to the advantage of cool-season flowers These are the flowers you can plant in early April and they'll endure multiple frosts and even snow without complaint.
It's a great way to enjoy flowers in my garden until Iowa's last frost date (mid-May), when I can plant warm-season annuals, such as impatiens and geraniums. Cool-season annuals really extend our short northern growing season!
The down side is that when temperatures regularly get up in the 80s, cool-season annuals start to yellow and die in the heat. That's when you have to steel yourself and tear them out. Replant with warm-season annuals to enjoy until frost.
Yours in chilly gardening,
 Veronica Lorson Fowler |
Creeped Out By Creeping Charlie
 Twenty-six years ago I moved into my house. And for 26 years I've been battling creeping Charlie (called ground ivy in much of the rest of the country).
It's the Midwestern weed that just won't go away. All you can do is to minimize it. Gardeners with lots of shade have it the worst since this weed doesn't do well in full sun.
There is hope, however. Click here for tips on coping with creeping Charlie and keeping it at acceptable levels.
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| My Chemical Secret
Let me start out by saying I prefer organic gardening. But as with so many other "value-based behaviors," what I prefer and what I actually do can differ.
So confession: Sometimes I resort to chemicals. One of my favorite vices, if you can call it that, is Preen--the brand name for a pre-emergent herbicide. (Get it? It kills plants before they emerge?) The other brands work well, too.
Sprinkle it on flower beds when the bright yellow forsythia blooms (that's now) and it prevents all sorts of weed seeds from germinating. There's also a lawn type of Preen.
Granted, I wish I were so up on my weeding and mulching that I didn't need it. But I do.
And I take comfort in the fact that as garden chemicals go, this one is pretty innocuous.
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Don't Be a Bush  Butcher
Now is a great time to get out there and prune most trees and shrubs in our landscape (except ones that flower in spring-wait until after they bloom!)
However, most trees and shrubs do fine with little to no pruning from year to year. Click here for pruning basics on why, when, and how.
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Garden Quote
"Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day."
--Former Mason City Globe-Gazette Editor W. Earl Hall
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Have tough garden questions?
The
Iowa State University
Horticulture Extension Answer Line gives great, free advice! 515-294-3108
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Sponsored Link
Ted's Garden Center, Cummings
Mosaic Flower Pot Class Saturday May 14 and 21
10 a.m-noon. Create your own beautiful flower pot in this class by decorating it with a variety of materials--glass marbles, beads, tiles, found objects and more. In the second class you will grout and seal your flower pots for a long lasting finish. This class is messy so dress appropriately. $30.
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Garden To-Do List
For a printable version of this list for April, click here.
For a month-by-month listing of what to plant when in Iowa, click here.
 Divide perennials that bloom in the late spring, summer, or fall now, as needed or desired. (Spring-blooming perennials should be divided after they're done blooming through summer into fall.)
Prune most large trees, small trees, shrubs, evergreens, and roses now as desired. Wait to prune spring-flowering shrubs until after they're done blooming so you don't reduce the show.
Spray fruit trees and roses with dormant oil to prevent pests and diseases.
If you choose to use a preemergent weed killer, such as Preen, in your beds and borders, now it the time to apply it. Organic versions are also available. Look for products that also fertilize.
If your lilacs, roses, and other plants get powdery mildew, now--before it shows up--is the only time to control it. Spray with a fungicide three or more times before temperatures regularly hit the 80s.
Plant nearly any type of tree or shrub now.
Plant cool-weather loving seeds, such as radishes, carrots, lettuces, spinach, peas, turnips, beets, and various greens now. It will soon be too hot!
Plant cool-season annual flowers such as pansies, now.
Plant seedlings of cool-season vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbages now.
Plant bareroot roses now. It's also now warm enough to plant roses growing in containers.
Plant herbs now that like cool weather, including parsley, chives, and cilantro. Also plant any perennial herbs.
Wait to plant warm-season annuals, such as marigolds, tomatoes, and petunias, until after the last average frost date in mid-May.
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Garden Events
Friday, April 22,
Earth Day
The Des Moines Botanical Center
Celebrate Earth Day with a stroll through indoor and outdoor gardens alike. Free admission!
Saturday, April 23
Edible Windowbox Workshop
Iowa Arboretum, Madrid
10:30 a.m. Preregistration required by April 15. $25-$30.
Upcoming Iowa Garden Events.
Have a garden event or events that you'd like featured in The Iowa Gardener? Click here and send us your information. |
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