When spring rolls around, the gardening season gets underway. If you do everything right in the spring, your yard and garden will look beautiful all summer long. Check out these suggestions from some of our leading experts to create a garden that you can be proud of this year:
1. Give your perennials some attention.
During the spring, it is the perfect time to give your perennials a little bit of extra love. Adding mulch to the soil will help ensure that the plants have all of the nutrients that you need. If you have any perennials that you want to divide, this is also good time to do it. The process is easy. All that you have to do is take them out of the ground, break the crown into multiple pieces, and replant those pieces. The center of the crown can be thrown away.
As the weather warms up, you should start seeing signs of some of the perennials in your garden borders peeking above the ground. This makes it easy to walk around the area without having to worry about crushing the delicate plants underfoot.
2. Prepare your lawn for the season.
Cutting the lawn for the first time each year should be done early in the spring season.
Before mowing, spend some time tuning up your mower. This includes having the blade professionally sharpened. A dull blade can harm the grass. By sharpening the blade early in the season, your lawn will stay healthier all summer long. Sharp, clean cuts help minimize bruising, which can improve the overall health of your grass.
The first few times that you mow, keep the level of the mower set higher than normal. This will allow the grass to get established before you start cutting it shorter later in the season.
Avoid cutting your grass too short during any time of the year. Otherwise, weeds are more likely to take hold since the seeds have an easier time getting to the soil. Keeping your lawn a little bit taller can prevent the weed seeds from getting through, helping to minimize the growth of unsightly weeds in your lawn.
3. Begin planting certain plants.
Early in the spring, it is the ideal time to plant trees, shrubs, and other plants with bare roots according to Soothing Walls. Ideally, you should try to be finished with all of this type of planting before March 17, which is St. Patrick's Day.
Evergreens with bare roots can also be planted during this season. Just be sure to add mulch around the bases of the trees to keep them from getting too chilly during the earliest months of the year. You can also plant bulbs for perennials like gladioli, lilies, and Fritillaria.
4. Take care of your bulbs.
After your spring bulbs are done flowering, it is the ideal time to divide them. Begin by removing the flowers and seed heads. Then, gently divide the bulbs and put them back in the ground approximately two feet apart from each other.
5. Get your vegetables started.
Spring is one of the busiest seasons if you are going to be growing vegetables. If the temperatures are still too cold, you can begin growing plants indoors to give them a jumpstart on the season.
After the seeds emerge, keep them in a cool place with plenty of light. This will help keep them from getting too tall and thin. As the seedlings grow, turn them each day to keep them from becoming overly developed on one side or the other.