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Welcome to the Early Spring edition of our newsletter!
Our free seasonal newsletters are filled with timely tips as well as helpful
gardening and landscaping information. We provide a variety of information
from how-to's, plant use, landscape suggestions, and of course our monthly
promotion at the end! We hope you'll enjoy it!
We know. Old Man Winter
certainly took his time getting here this year, and when he finally arrived
we got an ice storm! Many of us are still contending with the ice from this
last storm, but believe it or not, it's the perfect time to start thinking
spring!
Now’s the perfect time to plan your spring garden! We’ll come
out to your property, evaluate your needs and design a plan specifically with
your ideals in mind. We’ll provide you with a detailed plant key and
a photograph of all the beautiful flowers that will grace your garden in the
months to come. We’ll even give you a 10% discount
if you call us with any of your landscaping or gardening needs before April
15th!
In the meantime, here are some monthly tips to help give you a little Spring
before Mother Nature does!
We can even plan a lawn care program for you to ensure you have a lush, green, beautiful lawn this year!
• Forcing spring-blooming shrubs is a great way to
give yourself a little Spring. Cut branches from forsythia, quince, redbud,
pussy willows, and other spring-blooming shrubs and trees to force indoors.
Simply cut branches of flowering woody plants once you can spot the tiny developing
buds. Submerge the branches in cold water (like the tub) for a couple of hours
or up to a full day. Then stick just the ends in a bucket of cold water about
a foot deep for a week in a cool (no warmer than 60 degrees F) spot. Arrange
in a vase, put in a warm room, and watch the buds open over the next few days.
Of course, M&M Designs can do this for you if you’d like to bring
a little Spring indoors.
• Unusual Annuals are a great addition to any garden.
Following are six outstanding examples of unusual annuals that can provide
a wide range of size, texture, and color for your garden. Anise Sage, Tassel
Flower, Flowering Green Tobacco, Aibica, Tweedia and Blue eyed Daisy are show
stoppers that are sure to draw attention. Most of these annuals can not be
found in garden centers, they have to be sown from seed. Now is the time to
start seeds indoors.Contact
M&M Designs for more information on these great garden additions. We’ll
be sure to start your seeds and plant them in your garden later in the season
after they’ve matured.
• Our feathered friends shouldn’t be forgotten - especially with all the snow we just had! Birds in the garden not only provide endless enjoyment, but they are also beneficial to your landscape. They often eat insects that can harm your plants. Suet is a great benefit to them in the winter. There are endless options, but one of our favorite is our very own recipe! We slowly cook down beef suet (which can be found at any grocery store) and mix it with
• SPRING GARDENING TIPS:
Late winter/spring cutting
back and general maintenance to help prepare the garden:
- Cut back all herbaceous
foliage--Some perennials maintain a basal crown of foliage. Remove old, dead
leaves as needed
- Careful of cutting back Evergreen perennials! Some plants such as candytuft
need to finish flowering to be shaped. Other evergreens such as Lenten Roses
can have all unsightly foliage removed to the base to freshen up this years
growth.
- In late March or early April, cut back any remaining damaged or dead foliage on your perennials. This allows fresh growth. If not removed, dead and damaged foliage will mix in with fresh foliage.
- It's been a tough winter
with the extreme in temperatures. Make a note of plants that have suffered
frost-heave and gently push them back in the ground. Some plants may have
suffered frost damage and must be carefully maintained to see if they will
make it through the season.
- Before removing old foliage, tie up your ornamental grasses first; and then
cut them down to the base with electric hedge trimmers. This will ensure a
sharp, clean cut.
- Cut back perennials with a woody framework such as lavendar hard in early
spring as soon as new growth breaks. Be sure to remove any dead stalks from
the previous year.
- Cut back any new growth on Summer blooming flowering shrubs such as Butterfly
Bush to a woody framework. These shrubs flower on "New Wood". Be
sure you remove all dead and diseased wood. The severity you prune these shrubs
depends on the size you want to maintain the shrub.
- Be sure NOT to prune any Spring blooming flowering shrubs such as rhodedendrons and azaleas. These plants flower on "Old Wood" and should be pruned right after they bloom.
- Prune your roses according to their classification. As a general rule of thumbtake down the protective hills of mulch or topsoil around the crowns added the previous fall. Remove all dead branches and prune back crossing branches. Increase air circulation by thinning out the dense wood in the center and opening it up. This helps prevent diseases.Open up the inside of the plant by thinning out dense wood in the center. This increases air circulation. Climbing roses are pruned down to a woody framework and tied to an appropriate support.
- Certain Perennials such
as Phlox and Bee Balm (Monarda) can be thinned out. Remove 1/3 of the new
growing shoots to the base. This will encourage better air circulation, reduce
fungus, and create fewer and larger flowers.
Be sure to check out our spring Newsletter for more detailed tips on maintaining your shrubs and perennials.
Call us by April 15th and receive a 10% discount on any lawn or garden services.
Contact us with any questions or comments:
PHONE: 860-873-1357
EMAIL: info@mandmgardendesigns.com
Please be sure to specify your area of interest.
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