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Time to Get Out in the Garden
By Hilda M. Morrill
April 7, 2008
 The 2008 gardening season is upon us. With daylight getting longer every day, we are energized and eager to get outside to putter around.
In our own garden we discovered snowdrops in flower on March 9! Carpets of blue Scilla cover large areas, crocuses play hide and seek, and the green tips of our emerging daffodils beckon us.
The 2008 New England Spring Flower Show is now but a memory; and believe it or not, plans for the 2009 show are already underway.
On speaking with several members of the nursery trade during the show, we had the opportunity to find out some of the current gardening trends.
The buzzword is "organic" - less use of chemicals and pesticides. Gardeners are composting more - saving fallen leaves, kitchen vegetable peelings, eggshells and even human hair - to decompose in a pile or a tumbler, providing rich amendments for our gardens.
Lawns are getting smaller as gardeners look for more room to plant flowers, shrubs and vegetables. Vegetable gardening is regaining popularity via seeds and plants. More communities are sponsoring farmers' markets, where locally grown produce is sold, for that "just-picked" flavor.
Water gardens, whether simple plastic tubs with a couple of water lilies, or large ponds featuring cascades, fountains and colorful fish, are more evident.
For some homeowners, because of work schedules or family responsibilities, instant gratification is key; and if the budget permits, they demand instant gardens, full size trees and someone to do all the work.
So, where to start for the do-it-yourselfer?
If the ground is really wet, hold off walking in your beds or even on the lawn to avoid compacting the soil. That's why stepping-stones or borders of cement pavers are helpful. Not only do they add interest (and in the case of the pavers, make for neat looking edging for garden beds), but they also give us a firm walking surface.
If nothing else, cut some branches of early flowering shrubs such as forsythia to bring indoors to "force." Place them in a bucket of water in a cool dark place such as a cellar until the blossoms appear. They'll be sure to cheer up any room in your home.
Early April is a good time to clean up yard debris and to prune back any dead or broken branches from small trees. Work on large trees should be left to the professionals.
I always cut back spireas and butterfly bushes at this time. It keeps them small and compact. It's also a good time to cut back the decorative grasses such as the miscanthus, which looks ragged and messy after the long winter.
The dead tops of sedums get trimmed, too. They give interest to the winter garden and provide food for some of our resident birds. But by now, they look pretty ratty. Nice new green shoots are visible at their base.
For many, early April is the ideal time to sow tomato and other seeds indoors for planting outside when the weather warms up, usually around Memorial Day.
Some seeds, such as those of peas, spinach, celery and lettuces, can be sown directly in the garden where they are to grow.
A couple of good books for beginners and old-timers alike are "The Garden Primer" by Barbara Damrosch and "Organic Gardening for the 21st Century" by John Fedor.
April is "National Gardening Month." For ideas and inspiration, visit www.garden.org.
Of course, in our Zone 6 region there's always the possibility of more wintry weather ahead. Remember the so-called "Mother's Day Blizzard"? Although I forget the exact year, I know that it was in May.
Happy Gardening! |
