In the Know

Let us to help you analyze your needs and what you’d like to grow so we can help maintain your garden beds and allow your plants to flourish for optimum health.

 

Our main priority and focus is on maintaining your garden beds and containers.   A well maintained garden and property is a healthy property.   One that produces healthy fruits, vegetables and flowers.  Continually well maintained gardens have plants that thrive from season to season and bloom.  Gardens that are not well maintained on a regular basis can start to show signs of neglect easily within 1 month.  Can you image what they may look like after 3 months?  6 months?  Or even after 1 year?

Plants need to breath, they need to be cut back at the right time, staked correctly, fertilized appropriately, pruned properly and deadheaded for optimum performance and to maintain health and vigor.  

 

And believe it or not, your soil.  Your soil needs to be cared for too.  It also needs to be addressed, analyzed, amended and cared for.  We can help with taking soil samples and having the pH and nutritional needs studied so we can amend it correctly based on what you are trying to grow.

Let us to help you analyze your needs and what you’d like to grow so we can help maintain your garden beds and allow your plants to flourish for optimum health.

 

A HORTICULTURE DOZEN

Your 13 Step spring and fall check list

Spring Garden Check List

  1.  Clean, sharpen and oil gardening tools.
  2.  Walk your garden beds, study trees and shrubs for winter damage.
  3.  Take a close look at what perennials are starting to ‘wake up’ and see if any plants have frost heaved.
  4.  Start with early spring pruning.  Including cutting back grasses and Sprireas and possibly some Hydrangea paniculata.  There are many perennials, that include  Roses and Buddleia that do ’NOT’ benefit from early pruning so it’s important to know your ’timing’ and watch your early spring weather forecasts for and late winter frost.
  5.  Clean up any remaining winter debris.horticulture1
  6.  Start to clean out and prep containers with fresh soil and fertilizer.
  7.  Prep and prepare any new projects and garden beds.
  8.  Begin to prepare your vegetable garden.
  9.  Analyze and amend your soil.  Send out a soil sample to find your nutritional and pH needs.
  10.  Go thru and organize stakes, peony hoops, hoses, watering nozzles.
  11.  Start to sow any early season seeds.
  12.  Fertilize spring blooming bulbs.
  13.  Make a list of supplies and fertilizers that are needed to start off the season.

 

Fall Garden Check List

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  1.  Begin to bring in any tender house plants. Allow them to adjust slowly to those indoor temperatures, light and humidity and inspect for insects prior to them coming in.
  2.  Clean up vegetable gardens but not your cool crop plants.  Discard any diseased plants and compost or till in anything that can add organic matter back to your soil.
  3.  Begin to clean up spent and finished annuals.
  4.  Start to slowly cut back perennials.
  5.  Dig and divide your perennials.   Fall is great time to dig and divide Hosta and Peonies.
  6.  Don’t rush with your Dahlias.  Let them get a good hard frost before you begin to dig them for winter storage.
  7.  Drain and store hoses, watering nozzles and watering cans.  Drain all fountains and clear and shut off irrigation systems.
  8.  Plant spring bulbs.
  9.  Clean out and store your containers except those that can stay outdoor for the winter and consider decorating them for winter and Christmas.
  10.  Finish your final clean up, last minute cut-backs to perennials and weeding.
  11.  Do any late fall pruning to appropriate shrubs or trees.  Timing is key, so know your plants and when it’s appropriate to do that.
  12.  Protect tender shrubs, newly planted trees and roses with an anti-desiccant, shrub wraps, shrub protectors or leaves at the base of your roses.
  13.  When all done, clean, sharpen and oil and properly store your tools.