Welcome to Spring 2014...

So it has been a whole year since I last posted on my blog.  Apologies, but we were in fact so busy that I wasn't ever able to get back to it.  I good thing!  But I am going to do a better job this year.

So we all know how bad the winter was.  I won't say anymore about the brutally cold temperatures and frequent storms, the ice...

We started back into the gardens this year April 9th, and still found ourselves working around snow piles and wet, cold conditions.  No choice, the work had to get started.

What are the most important things to be doing in the garden right now?  Here is an early spring check list for you:

1. Clean up any winter debris, old perennial and ornamental grasses die-back from last fall.

2. Compost, compost, compost.  Adding nutrients to the soil is one of the most important things you can do to help your garden flourish.

Here is Michelle, one of my staff adding compost to a garden bed.  We try to do this for all our clients in the spring.  If you don't notice a difference in the same season, you will certainly notice a difference in the following couple of years if you keep doing it.

3. Add slow-release fertilizers to clematis, roses, and rhododendrons.

4. Add slow-release evergreen fertilizer to all your evergreens.

5. Prune all late blooming shrubs once you are able to see the winter die-back.  Prune annabelle hydrangeas back to 6 inches above ground.

That's a good start.  Stay tuned for more...