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...because all the best garden advice is local
March 26, 2015

 

     

It is a stop-me-in-my-tracks moment each and every year when I spot the first flower of spring. Just a few days ago, I was walking the dog and spotted a lone crocus blooming bravely in the cold on a neighbor's south-facing yard.

   Is there anything more cheering? Ding, dong, the winter's dead! Poor Lucy the aging black lab became slightly concerned about her owner starting to whoop and jump about.

   I took a picture with my phone and promptly posted it on The Iowa Gardener Facebook page--pics or it didn't happen, right? It was wonderful to see other readers posting their first-flower photos in response. Doubly cheering.

   If you have any to share on Facebook, please do. We need all the evidence we can muster to prove that spring is truly, finally here!

 

Yours in cheering over flowers,

Veronica Lorson Fowler

 

Get Planting!
 

seed packets in ziploc bags It's not that I so love radishes, but I do so love planting them. It feels great to be outside, working in the soil again. Along with spinach and lettuces, they're one of the few seeds you can plant outside about now, as soon as the soil can easily be worked.

   For a complete list of what to plant when in Iowa, click here.

   And for a list of what garden chores you can do in the next few weeks, click here. 

The Cat's Meow

 

If you're looking for a new perennial for a sunny spot, consider catmint. It has pretty silver gray foliage all growing season long, and in early summer, is covered in tiny blue flowers. Mine is often mistaken for lavender (which is far less cold-hardy in Iowa). I love planting catmint at the base of a rose bush--it covers the leggy canes and is beautiful against the roses.

It's also drought-tolerant and is a butterfly and bee magnet. If you don't have any catmint, try 'Six Hill's Giant,' my favorite for its generous size, or 'Walker's Low.' Catmint also grows vigorously enough that you can buy one or two plants and then divide them in 3 or so years. 
 

Garden stuff

 

using electric hedge trimmer to cut perennials

My favorite tool for cutting back ornamental grasses and any perennial that is the slightest bit woody is a lightweight electric hedge trimmer.  It slices through a bed in minutes that might otherwise take me an 

hour or two. They're not expensive, either, starting at about $35. I bought mine specifically to cut back perennials!

   Another good spring cleanup tip: I got these collapsible bins, made for collecting home demolition materials, at Lowe's for just $10. Great for collecting leaves, brush, and other materials and then hauling them away on free yard waste days!
Editor's Choice - Garden Event  
 
Sunday, March 29th
Iowa Arboretum, Madrid 
1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. 
Create a spring wreath using a garden hose and other items. Materials provided. $10 for members and $15 for non-members to attend this fun, "welcoming spring" project. Bring your imagination.

Garden Quote  

 

"Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn."

--  Lewis Grizzard in Kathy Sue Loudermilk, I Love You
Issue: 110

Monthly To-Do

 

Take advantage of the upcoming predicted nice days to get out in your yard and pick up trash and sticks, inspect for winter damage, and just generally check out the state of your garden.

 

 If perennials are sending up a little fresh growth, rake leaves out of flower beds and cut back any perennials left standing. Toss the old stuff in the compost heap. (Please tell me you have one, right?)

 

 Edge beds, walks, and drives as desired.

 

 Time to prune most large trees, small trees, evergreens, and shrubs. Hold off on pruning roses until they send out more growth.

 

 We're about 7 weeks before Iowa's last average frost date! Time to start seeds indoors now of annuals that you should start 6-8 weeks before the last average frost date. These include marigolds, globe amaranth, sweet alyssum, and flowering tobacco. Click here for a more detailed planting calendar for Iowa. 

 

 Once you can easily work the soil outside, plant directly in the ground seeds of fast-germinating cool-season vegetables, such as radishes, spinaches, and lettuces.

 

 Plant bareroot trees, shrubs, and roses, as long as you can work the soil easily.

 

 Prevent diseases and insects on fruit trees by spraying with horticultural oil, also called dormant oil. Do so when there is little wind and temperatures are in the 40s. 

 

 The bright yellow forsythia will be blooming soon. When it does, that means its time to sprinkle any preemergent herbicide (kills weed seeds, such as Preen) on flower beds, if you choose to use it. It's also the time to apply a preemergent to your lawns. Or save time with a weed and feed combo!

 

 Stock up! Work off spring fever by buying pots, potting soil, seeds and seed-starting supplies, tools, soil amendments, fertilizers, etc. And get out there and clean up and organize your garage or shed, wash pots, etc.

 

 How's your mower? If you didn't get it tuned up last fall and the blade sharpened, do it yourself now or take it in before the spring rush.

 

 Same for any shears or other sharp cutting or slicing objects, including spades and hoes. If you haven't already, invest a few bucks in a sharpening stone. It makes all the difference. Click here to learn how. It's easy after you do it once or twice.