As the days grow longer and the sun graces us with its warmer presence, gardeners everywhere eagerly await for colorful blooms, fresh herbs, and comfortable temperatures to beckon us outside again. In this article, originally published in the March/April 2016 edition of The Compass, two avid gardeners and Cameron Station neighbors celebrate the arrival of spring by sharing advice on essential tasks to tackle in preparation for the season, from plotting out your garden layout to selecting the perfect seeds and plants.
Grab your gloves, sharpen your shears, and let’s welcome spring with open arms!
Floral images courtesty of The Spruce.
Spring Gardening Tips
Originally published in March/April 2016 edition
By Linda Greenberg and Kathy McCollom
It’s getting to be the season that plant people love most: Spring Time! The garden centers will soon be stocking their shelves with spring’s colorful blooms, and perennials will be shoving through the soil in our small gardens. Here are some tips worth considering to help your personal patch look fresh and eye-catching for the 2016 season.
Early spring is the time to give the garden a good cleanup. Remove dead leaves and odd trash bits that blew under the bushes, trim back perennials to encourage new growth, and consider what worked the previous year and what didn’t. Remember, however, not to prune the azaleas this time of year, lest you remove the blooming tips. The same advice applies to hydrangeas; they bloom on old wood. If you’re not sure whether you are removing potential buds or not, leave them for later.
Is it time to call in the professionals? Maybe you have trees and bushes that are getting out of hand, either left by a previous owner, or on your “too-hard-to-do” list. Before the Cameron Station management administrator sends a warning that “the tree” is an issue, consider hiring professionals to do a once-over. They can trim up trees, get rid of established weeds, trim bushes to a pleasing shape that is comfortably removed from sidewalks and walls, and maybe plant a few perennials with a new mulch cover. Once everything is just right, it’s so much easier to do minor maintenance to keep things in line. And, if you ask them what maintenance to do, they will gladly tell you.
Many residents like container plants for balconies and entries. The instant color has a lot of appeal. Be sure to consider whether your plants will be in sun or shade and how much effort you’ll put into keeping them alive throughout the summer. Pots, hanging baskets, or window boxes in full sun will need daily watering in the summer, sometimes both in the mornings and evenings of the hottest days. Pots in protected spots can go out as early as mid-April. More exposed areas should not be exposed until the last official frost date of early May.
Large containers look best with a plant mix in a specific color arrangement, a mix of textures, and at least one tall plant and one that cascades over the side. Be sure that all plants in one pot have similar needs, such as needing the same amount of sun or having similar preferences for moisture or dryness. The little tags in plant pots have this information. Be wary of the full growth potential of each plant before you purchase it. All tiny plants are equally cute. By late season, one might dwarf the others and look very scrawny and out of place, or even smother the smaller plants.
Note that many garden centers sell blooming, cool weather plants in early spring. They look good immediately, but the summer heat will eventually kill them. Pansies, in particular, are “spring-only” flowers. If you plan for your potted plants to last through the season, look for ones that bloom through the fall and can handle heat well. Garden center staff can be very helpful in guiding your purchases. Or, you may decide to enjoy pansies through May and then buy summer begonias or vincas for the hottest months. Whatever you decide, think of the impact it will make and how much pleasure it will give the passers-by.
Happy spring, and happy gardening!
This article was originally published on page eight of the March/April 2016 edition of The Compass. To view more of The Compass archive, click here.
Interested in contributing to The Compass? Contact the editor at thecompass@cameronstation.org or reach out to the Communications Committee at communications@cameronstation.org.
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