It’s still too cold to working in the soil but it’s finally time to plan our gardens. What kind of colors should you give your garden this year? What kind of annuals are you going to select? Are you going to be adventurous?Will you try some new plants?
You know what perennials are in your garden as the “baseline”. Are they planted in “happy” places, i.e. have the right growing conditions? Do they have enough light? Too much light? Enough or too little water? While planting time is in high gear in the southeast, the northeast will be ready for planting in a few short weeks. Hopefully you have given your plants them a boost last fall and nurtured your grass.
What color do you want to give your summer garden this year? The fun of annuals is that you can change it each year. So try out some new plants.
I tried Nikko hydrangeas in one spot last year but wound up moving them since they simply could not handle the amount of sun. So this spring I am planting new ones with a lime green to white flowers. My local nursery tells me this variety loves sun – we’ll see.
Did you see my tip to make garden maintenance easier? Boy, what a difference when you don’t have to weed!!!!
Planters are always focal points in gardens – I love this smiley face planter. Perhaps because of the detail on the planter itself simple planting schemes seem to work best in this one – potato vine with just a touch of contrast similar to what’s shown in the photo.
If you have not been successful with planters in the past it is likely due to two planter fundamentals:
(1) Be sure your planters have a solid bed of crushed stone at the bottom so that the water can drain well, and
(2) Planters should also be mulched to reduce water evaporation at the top
Enjoy your garden this year! Make it fun. A little good soil, water and Mother Nature will do the rest for you.
