Last week it’s 80 degrees today it’s 34 and possible snow flurries. I love New England. We had very little snow this winter and our landscapes are suffering from it. If we don’t have rain or snow, water any of your specimen plants as they may need a good soaking by now. Water deeply by leaving the hose on trickle for an hour, and water in any fertilizer or lawn care item you apply now.
I’ve noticed some fat robins in my yard, pulling at worms, and frantically searching for nesting spots. Some of my birds are actually fighting over bird houses, crazy. Continue to feed the birds, put out your bird baths and add nesting materials like cut up pieces of yarn, leave old twine in your garden for the birds to pull apart. It’s great fun to listen to the peeps of hatchlings in the late spring.
My lettuce seed sprouted in 2 days with the warmer temps and the pea seed should show it’s head in about a week. If we do have snow it’ll be good for the peas. Next to go in my garden are swiss chard and radishes.
If you’re new to gardening or just want to try something new consider a raised bed garden. Choose a site that gets atleast 6 hours of sun and plant a mixed up variety of veggies, flowers and herbs. Add a trellis for vertical planting, saving even more space. Raised bed gardening is easy on your back, allows you to use the best soil available, saves on tilling, reduces weeds and helps control pests.
Plan to plant this spring, add color to your lanscape with a pjm rhododendron, soon to bloom a gorgeous, purple and looks great with yellow forsythia and early daffodils.Consider adding evergreens to your foundation plantings, they make a great background for any plant or flower that comes up later in the season.
Distribute compost liberally to gardens in preparation for a great gardening season. Happy gardening!
