As you clean up your gardens remember to put in place your plant supports. Peonies, delphiniums and tall dahlias all need something to lean on. Either linking stakes or circular grow-thru supports work well. If you use bamboo stakes be sure to continue to attach stems as they grow to prevent them from breaking half way up.

Feed your gardens, borders and trees. Gardeners’ preferences vary but either organic fertilizer or compost will work. In the garden, sprinkle fertilizer here and there. Go to the shrub border and rake out the old leaves and winter trash. Cut a new deep edge. Top dress the area with compost that you then gently fork into the soil. If using Pro-Gro fertilizer sprinkle it along the drip edge of the shrubbery. Remulch with an inch or two of bark mulch. The best is double ground.

Sharpen your pruners or replace the blades. Felco sells replacement blades for pruners and hand saws. They are available in our garden center. Be sure and note the style of pruner you have so you get the correct blade.

Be on the look out for seedlings, particularly from annual flowers. Nicotiana, verbena bonariensis, calendula, cosmos and bidens are some enthusiastic reseeders. Learn what the young leaves look like so you don’t hoe them under. At the nursery we carefully transplant the seedlings into 4 paks, keeping them outside where we will remember to water them. Once they have established substantial roots the young plants are relocated into various gardens. Some perennials may surprise you and sprout up in unlikely spots. If you do not like where they are, get them out while they are young. Many perennials have hefty root
systems that really spread out and take hold. I overlooked an errant Siberian iris and a
year later it was too big. Removing it entailed removing part of a stone wall.

Little bunnies and chipmunks LOVE to snack on tender tulip shoots and buds. At the nursery we deter them by using either Ropel or Deer Off. Both are harmless yet horrible tasting sprays. Spray frequently as shoots poke up from the earth and then again as the bud forms. It works for us.

Spring means seeds. Now is the time to plant cold crops; sweet peas, spinach, lettuce, etc. We have a beautiful selection of heirloom sweet peas from Renee’s Garden Seeds. And Charlie can vouch for our outstanding collection of salad greens. Last year he grew award winning arugala and loved it’s pungent spiciness.

You can also plant ‘starts’ of cold loving vegetables. The cool spring weather is perfect for cauliflower, cabbage, and brussel sprouts.

Acid loving plants, such as azalea, blueberries, rhododendrons, hydrangeas, oak trees, raspberries and yews will benefit from a dressing of Pro-Gro Holly Fertilizers. Applications made in the spring help plants form strong branches, better leaf surface and more buds.

Calculate before you order. Towards the end of the Horsfords 2007 plant catalogue is a chart that helps gardeners calculate, in cubic yards, the amount of topsoil or mulch they need. The chart is based on depth and square feet. It is very handy and saves on guess work.

Thin out clumps of monarda and tall garden phlox. Doing so will provide better air circulation and cut back on the occurrence of powdery mildew. Cut several stalks in each clump to the ground.