Tips for Getting Your Garden Ready This Spring
Spring is just around the corner and that means a new growing season will soon be getting underway. Now is the time to get your garden in order for a stunning color display later, here are our top tips to get ahead start this spring.
Pull Old Plants and Weeds
Before adding new blooms and seeds, it’s crucial to give your garden a fresh start. Whether you’re seeing leftover weeds from last year or new ones that sprouted in cool weather, eliminate them now when the ground’s still soft from winter. They’ll come out easier than in hard, dry summer soil. Especially remove them before they have a chance to grow and deeply root, and especially pull them before they have a chance to go to seed. Leave only the bare soil in the flower beds and surrounding areas after removing all of the old leaves and other trash.
Start Composting
You can find old vegetation that is ideal for a compost bin by cleaning out your beds, pulling weeds, and raking leaves from your garden. To help replenish some of the lost nutrients that gardens require to thrive, apply a thin layer of completed compost over your bare soil after you’ve built a compost pile.
Fertilize the Beds.
Once the ground thaws, apply granular fertilizer around the trees, shrubs and perennials. Match the particular product to the plant type and to any particular nutrient needs spelled out by a soil test.
Examine Your Shrubs and Trees for Winter Damage.
Remove any branches that are broken, dead, or storm-damaged. Any evergreens that have seen tip diebacks from the cold of winter should also have their tips cut off.
Clean Your Tools
Don’t forget to pull out your gardening tools and ensure they’re in working condition. Experts recommend cleaning your pruners and shears with rubbing alcohol to avoid spreading any remnants of diseases from last year.
Plant Blubs for Extra Color
Excellent bulb choices for early spring planting and summer blooming include begonias, gladiolus, and lilies. Prepare for summer blooming flowers by sowing seeds of zinnias, cosmos, and sunflowers.
Start at Container Garden
Plant container-grown perennials this spring for beauty that endures. During the hot summer months and while plants are settling into their new locations, don’t forget to water. Discover perennials that will perform well in the late summer, when North Carolina gardens tend to wilt and droop under the heat. Good possibilities include salvias, verbenas, daisies, and other plants you can get at the garden center.
Happy Planting!
