Getting Ready for an Abundant Spring Garden

Spring still seems far away, but the days are getting longer and the sun’s strength is increasing. Spring is coming and within a few months from now our gardens will be filled with fresh green spring hue of the foliage. We will enjoy the abundant of colors from our spring time and bulb flowers. How lovely will it feel to feel the sun’s warm rays on our skin?

Special care for our Spring Garden

Our spring garden needs special care, let's be gentle to ourselves and enjoy. This year there is much more to recover from. Tulip at the Keukenhof

Flower Bulbs - We did all work in Fall

In fall we have planted our bulbs so there is not a lot of work now. Sit back and enjoy is the message here. Take a good look at your flower beds and decide if you want to make changes and write them down for your autumn bulb planting campaign.

Sit back and relax, in case of your annuals, herbs and vegetables the story is slightly different.

This is the time to carry out your plans, buy seeds or get a good seed catalogue. Flower bearing annuals are literally pumping out flowers during a relatively brief period. It's their way of making sure the species survive.

When you clip finished flowers away and take advantage of their different blossom periods you can have a colored display of annuals from spring until late autumn. Annuals also serve as the perfect camouflage of decaying flower bulb flower foliage.

Growing your annuals from seed means that you have more control over the quality of your plants. That way you can select the strongest seedlings to transplant. This is the time to look for good seeds and "research" flower seed catalogues. March Marigold

For your convenience we have prepared a comprehensive list of the needs, qualities, and care of the popular flowering annuals.

Container Gardens - Freedom and Flexibility

Containers in almost any size or form are a great help, it doesn't matter if you want to grow flowers, herbs, fruits or vegetables. With a collection containers you have the freedom to arrange and rearrange when you see fit. It's easier to protect a container of seedlings the a whole bed of them. Containers are also the perfect solution to try out different color combinations.

A sample of our articles on the subject:

Spring is also the season in which a little extra work will provide a huge payoff in summer.

The Battle against Weed is best won in spring

Late winter is the perfect time for some preventive weed control. It’s really very simple, get them out before they have a chance to bloom or develop their root systems. You can also get a grip on the nasty pest, strangle weed. While it’s still dormant you will be able to save the life of a few of your loved perennials. A task that becomes almost impossible in summer.

Tilling also means bringing dormant weed seeds to the surface

If you have some tiling to do, this is the time. The dormant weed seeds deep down will move to a more comfortable place and start to grow. In spring it takes little work to get them out. If you wait until summer you’re more or less stuck with the problem. It’s hot and your unwanted guests are settled and strong.

Spring Shrub Pruning

Late winter or early spring is the best season to prune your shrubs. They are still dormant, so they don't suffer from it and this time their foliage is minimal, so you can see what you're doing. There is one exception to this rule.

Don't prune flowering shrubs in spring. By doing so you will cut the flowers you were hoping for this season. Prune these shrubs after they finished blooming. That way they have the most time to recover and regain strength

Remember, whatever you do in your garden, good garden tools are at the basis of both a good result, enjoyment and to prevent injury.

More on seasonal pruning and pruning shrubs

Lawn Aeration

Virtual Gardening is coming of age, Gardening on your computer? Well actually it is in your computer, 3D models of plants and combinations of them are simulated within the memory banks of the computer. Actually 3D design is not only for scientists. For us the use of good 3D design software really pays off

You might like to pay a visit to our free Gardening EBook Library we keep filling it up with downloadable PDF's on gardening topics.

Use our site map to find your way if you get lost along our garden path or find information on individual cultivars in Plants A to Z