M&M Designs: Newsletter

Welcome to the April 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!

Well, it would seem that spring has finally arrived. Warm temps are here, there are crocuses blooming and daffodils aren't far behind!

Winter and early Spring storms can do a number on your property. Now's the perfect time to do a spring cleanup and get rid of those extra leaves that have blown around. Don't forget those sticks! Getting rid of sticks that have blown off of dead branches is critical before lawn mowing starts! A dull lawnmower blade is one of the worst things you can do for your lawn.

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.
In the meantime, here are some monthly tips to help give you a little Spring before Mother Nature does!

• 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

• Pruning of deciduous trees can be done any time now. It's important to remove any dead or diseased limbs that can cause problems in your landscape, weaken the trees, or possibly spread to the other trees.

• Safe planting: Even though the temps are warm, don't be fooled! We can still have frost.April 15th is the general rule of thumb for CT.Of course, be sure to check your local weather listings to be sure there's no threat of frost.

• SPRING GARDENING TIPS:

PRUNING/THINNING & CUTTING BACK

- 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 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.

- 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.

LAWNS:

Now is the time to apply pre-emergent to your lawn. We recommend organic, which provides for a healthier soil. Healthier soil equals healthier lawn.

Be sure never to cut more than 1/3 of the blade at a time. Cutting your lawn at approximately 2.5" is the healthiest for it. When grass is cut at this height it helps out-compete weeds for sunlight.

Have a shady area you can't grow grass in? Call us and we can make recommendations for you/

PHONE: 860-873-1357

EMAIL: info@mandmgardendesigns.com

Please be sure to specify your area of interest.

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