| For Your Lawn |
Prevent or reduce crabgrass and other weeds with a corn gluten weed suppresser combined with a lawn fertilizer if you wish to avoid pesticides in your lawn. Apply when the soil is 55 degrees. The alternative is to use a pre-emergent herbicide and lawn fertilizer, under the same conditions.
For established weeds, we have sturdy dandelion pickers to aid in the weeding. We also have post-emergent herbicide and sprayers for spot treating.
We have a wide variety of products to care for your lawn and most are pet and child friendly.
Notice poorly growing areas of lawn and apply a thin layer of compost. Anything you do to reduce compaction, improve drainage and feed the soil food web will help, and will avoid weeds taking over. If you have a severely compacted lawn, you may also wish to have core aeration done. |
| In the Edible Garden |
Once the soil is dry enough, you can work compost into your soil. We have cotton burr compost, organic soil conditioner, and many other beneficial products. The important thing is to get a product that provides mycorrhizae, a beneficial fungus.
Work soil amendments in gently, without excessively turning the soil -- a well- worn practice that actually damages the soil structure.
Plant lettuce and other greens, Swiss chard and leaf lettuce. These can be planted in the edible garden or in the flower beds for an ornamental and edible companion to your early annuals.
Now is the time to plant rhubarb and asparagus crowns if you are adding them this year. We have both in stock. Both re-emerge to produce more crop each year.
Plant cabbage, peas, broccoli sets and root crop seeds like carrots, beets, potatoes and onions in raised bed gardens now, for summer harvesting. If you have raised beds, you will have a longer season because the soil warms up faster and stays warm longer. If not, wait a couple more weeks and you can set out plants.
What if you don't have a vegetable garden? We have earth boxes for balcony, patio and small yard vegetable gardening. Come check them out. |
| In Our Next Issue |
More about perennials
Talking tomatoes
Summer annuals
Herbs
And More! |
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| What is Seasonal Solutions? |
The first warm weather of the season prompts us to want to get out in the garden! Seasonal Solutions can help.
This new e-newsletter is specifically designed to help you know what to do in your garden right now. The focus will be on what's happening in your garden, perennials and annuals, the edible garden, and your lawn. We'll publish Seasonal Solutions frequently throughout the growing season to give you tips and ideas for your gardening.
Links to our website and tips on what you will find when you visit the Garden Center will further guide your gardening activity.
Tell your friends about Seasonal Solutions and suggest that they sign up to get this helpful guide. |
| Featured Plant: Hellebore |
Photo courtesy of Northscaping.com  | Hellebore is often called the Lenten Rose because of its blooming time. It is often the first flower in the garden, blooming from late winter through April. Showy flowers that look like single roses are white, lavender, purple, red, burgundy, and even nearly black.
Hellebores form pleasing clumps and combine well with ferns, hosta and heuchera in a semi-shady spot with rich, moist soils.
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| Preparing Your Garden |
Variegated Reed Grass. Photo courtesy of Northscaping.com. | Cut back any dead foliage from last season with care right at the ground level, if you have not done so already. You can also rake gently to remove dead leaves or other debris around plants. For perennials with long trailing stems, "fluff" them by wiggling the tines of your rake under the mat of stems, with the points facing upward.
Perennials are plants that die back in the winter but re-appear each season, to bloom once for a defined period of time. Now is the time to prepare your perennials for the season ahead - as their new foliage emerges from the soil.
Divide perennials that bloom in summer and fall. Do not divide spring blooming perennials, peonies or iris until later in the season. If you have doubt about blooming time, check out our plant search for specific information about a perennial. Here are some general directions: Dig a large clump of soil around the plant and lift it gently to preserve the root ball. Lay it on its side and use a sharp shovel to slice through the plant. You can make several slices if you have a large clump and want to divide it more than once. Replant immediately and water. Be sure to plant to the same depth as the original undivided plant. Grasses can be divided in the same way throughout the month of May. Their roots are very hearty, so don't be afraid to cut them into several smaller clumps if they have gotten quite large.
Plant summer bulbs. Check out our stock of dahlias, cannas, elephant ears, and other summer bulbs that need to be started now. You can plant these in pots to get them started, and then sink the pots right in your garden after mid-May when the threat of nighttime frost is past.
Remove spring weeds from the garden when the soil is dry enough. Use a good hoe.
Start marigold seeds indoors for the flower border and vegetable garden. They are a natural insect deterrent and are easy to grow from seed in trays in a sunny window. This is an especially great activity if you have small children just learning to love the garden. |
| Planting For Now | |
Now is the time to plant cool season annuals for early color in your garden.
Annuals do not survive over the winter, but once planted, they provide continuous color. Cool season annuals like only the cooler soil and cooler temperatures of spring.
These include pansies, violas, ranunculus, and snapdragons. We have all these plants ready for sale now, and we also have sweet pea seeds. Sweet peas like to be planted early - and they grow quickly, providing a lovely flower that is great for early season bouquets! All of these plants will do better now than in the heat of summer. Come take a look if you don't know these plants. We are sure you will agree that it's worth your effort to do a spring planting.
Put stakes and supports in place for the larger summer and fall blooming when the plants are about 6" high. |
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