March into Spring

            March is a guessing game in the garden.  Will it snow or rain?  Will it warm up soon?  Will it stay warm?  Should I remove the winter protection from plants?  About the only thing we can count on is that March to shall pass and maybe April will let us do more gardening.

            March is the month to start many seeds for transplants.  Be sure to uses a soil-less mix to avoid damping off, a seedling disease common when using mixes that contain soil. 

            To determine when to start your flower and vegetable transplants, count back from the date plants can safely be set out in your area.  As a rule most flowers and vegetables need to be started about six to eight weeks before transplanting time.

            Check the seed packet to determine if the seeds can be started indoors or should be sown directly in the ground when the weather warms.  Starting seeds indoors not only gives you a jump on the growing season, often leading to earlier harvests, but also allows you to have many varieties you can’t find at greenhouses and garden stores.

            Early March is a perfect time to finish the pruning of fruit trees, ornamental trees, and summer-flowering shrubs, providing you do it before the buds start to swell.  Wait to prune spring-flowering shrubs until they’ve bloomed, however, or you’ll cut off the buds and won’t get any flowers.

            Always use sharp pruning shears.  Make your cuts as close to the branch as possible as this will help the tree heal its wounds.  Prune to provide good branch angles (about 45°) and allow adequate air circulation and sunlight penetration.  This is also a good time to remove branches and limbs damaged in winter storms.  Just don’t mistake dormant twigs for winter kill and snap them off!

            Easter is early this year – March 31.  The flower that most often comes to mind, when we think of Easter, is the Easter lily.   Choose a well-proportioned plant, one that’s about two times as high as the pot.  Check the buds, flowers, and leaves – especially the undersides – for signs of insect pests and disease.

            To keep your lily healthy at home, remove the decorative foil or paper covering the pot, or make a hole in the bottom, to allow better drainage.  Put your plant where it will get plenty of bright, indirect light and cool temperatures.  About 40 to 50° F at night and below 68° F during the day is ideal. 

            Keep the soil constantly moist.  To prolong the life of the blossoms, remove the yellow, pollen-bearing pods or anthers found in the center of each flower.

DON’T expect your lily to flower again as it’s already been “forced” once by the grower to bloom in time for Easter.  However, you might get your lily to bloom again next fall by planting it outdoors once the soil has warmed up.

While you are waiting for the soil to dry, here are a few late winter chores:

•   Check out your garden tools, patio furniture, window boxes, etc.  Paint, repair or                   discard so you are ready to go when it’s really nice out.

•   Begin to transplant pot-bound houseplants.

•   Continue to inspect houseplants for pests and control as needed.

•   Cut back leggy houseplants.

•  You can start fertilizing houseplants but don’t fertilize the lawn until it has been mowed a few times.

•   Order seeds!  Hey that’s always fun.  Try something new this year!

            You don’t have to be Irish to buy a shamrock plant this month in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.  Shamrocks, a member of the Oxalis family, are easy to grow and are available at many garden centers and florist shops.  Like most houseplants, they prefer a sunny location and need periodic watering to ensure an evenly moist soil.

Was Grandma's Garden Trendy?

The old saying, “What goes around, comes around”, seems to be true with gardeners.  Did Grandma know that some day gardening would be America’s #1 leisure activity and a very huge business?  Was Grandma’s gardening different than today’s Gardeners?

Most of our garden traditions and trends today originated during the period of Grandmother’s Garden (1865 – 1915).  Just as people then were yearning for a simpler life – nostalgia for the past as they faced the new industrial revolution – so we are people looking for a simpler time during the technology and information age. 

Today’s gardener reinvented the past while creating new trends for the future.  Let’s take a look at the hot gardening trends.

We will see more gardening than ever before.  The recession has forced people to stay at home and this has created a need for people to look into their backyards and see if they actually like being there.  People are appreciating the value of their outdoor space as a place to enjoy, relax, exercise and connect back with nature and neighbors.

Now along with belt-tightning and downsizing, there is a welcome trend emerging – a return to Main Street American Values.  Gardeners will dig even deeper into old-fashioned values around the yard today, trend-watchers predict. Tops on the List: another increase in traditional vegetable gardening. Veggie gardening was up nearly 20% this  year on top of a 10% gain the year before, according to National Gardening Association research. 

The leading three reasons:  better taste, saving money and better quality food.  Hand in hand with that came hefty resurgences in seed –starting and the home-canning of produce – two other age-old practices that had tapered drastically in the last generation.

We will see more edible landscapes in the future.  How about a lettuce border for your perennial bed?  People will continue to plant their own food and probably get braver with more interesting varieties (the seed companies had absolute banner years!)  Some predict that people will begin to intersperse edible plants into their garden beds – blueberries, fruit trees, perennial herbs and perennial edibles like strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus – and use them as ornamental plants.  They also predict that more people will try and plant urban orchards – groups of a few trees – as more and more lawn gets replaced.

Organics will continue its take-over.  Eco-Boosting is in and Chemical Dependent Gardens are out.  Get used to terms like:  eco-bounty, eco-frugal, eco-metering, and eco-concierge that are sprouting up on blogs and social media.  Green is the new black as consumers seek products that work with nature not against. It.

As we look to the future we see water conservation getting a bigger play.  The trend to capture rainwater in rain barrels has gained a lot of momentum and will continue.

We will also see the development of more native and wildlife gardens.  More people will also get involved in landscape and garden projects in their communities.

I wonder what Grandma would think of these trends and how things have or have not changed.  Sunflowers were popular then, as they have become once again.   Tropical plants, especially those with bold foliage, were introduced into the more formal gardens, another trend rediscovered in today’s gardens.  Roses, peonies, phlox and hollyhocks were among the perennials commonly planted in Grandma’s time.

The old fashioned gardens incorporated vegetables and fruits for aesthetics, show and food.  They were located close to the house and often used as intimate living space or an outdoor room, much as we see in today’s home garden.

Higher fuel costs are expected to lure us off the highways and keep us closer to home for our entertainment and relaxation needs.  So Grandma, our backyards now serve a playground, living room, kitchen, home offices and havens.

We have come a long way but we are a true reflection of our own gardening heritage. 

What about you?  What are some of your family traditions with gardening and growing?

Welcome to a place where it is always the springtime of ideas!  Let's grow together!