In addition to chasing away the winter blues, spring also brings with it exciting times for gardeners who anticipate floral beauty and healthy plants for the grounds of their Mobile Eastern Shore real estate. To fulfill your gardening hopes, however, you need to prioritize your time in order to tend to all the tasks necessary for blooms and blossoms.
- Prune
For early blooming shrubs such as forsythia and viburnum, prune them as soon as blooms have passed. Early spring is also an ideal time to prune your roses.
- Deadhead
Remove spent flowers from bulbs, but leave the rest of the plant as is for the time being.
- Weed
Pull weeds from your beds and borders before they have a chance to take hold and spread.
- Compost
Tend to your compost if it has been neglected over the winter. If you do not have a compost bin, spring is a great time to start one.
- Prepare tools
Spring is a good time to prepare your tools for the oncoming gardening season and to make any necessary repairs or new purchases. You will be happy you have done so when summer sets in.
- Plant
Spring is a great time to add new plants to your garden. Be sure, however, that all threat of frost has past. Plant such things as trees, shrubs, hardy annuals, and summer blooming bulbs.
- Fertilize & Mulch
Fertilize and mulch beds and borders. Spring is also a good time to fertilize fruit trees. If you applied heavy winter mulch for protection from the cold, you will need to clear it away.
- Stake
Stake plants that may be prone to wind damage during the unpredictable spring weather.
One type of gardening which appeals to many environmentalists is organic gardening, the incorporation of the entire landscape design and environment to improve the soil and maximize plant production without using synthetic materials.
Another gardening philosophy which is gaining in popularity is “no till” planting. Proponents of this system insist that not tilling the soil of your Mobile Eastern Shore real estate improves the quality of the dirt by not disturbing it and thus not bringing buried weeds, bacteria, and carbon to the surface. Layers of mulch and other organic materials not only “feed” the soil, but also control weed growth.
Whatever method you select, may your gardening days be happy and your blooms rewarding!