Springing into Action
by Su Rickett
Gardening is never dull and every year is different. There are however, lots of jobs out in the garden that need attending to on an annual basis and right now its time to get the garden ready for spring.
A good place to start is checking over the tools you have to work with. Probably the most important piece of equipment is a good pair of pruners. They should be sharp, well oiled and ready to go. If yours are severely lacking in this department, the start of the year is a great time to invest in a new pair. The Rolls Royce of pruners are Felco’s. There is a pair made for every size of hand, even left-handers are catered for and spare parts are readily available. They are designed for long hours of use and last forever. Their red handles make them easier to spot when you’ve put them down in the garden too. Once you’ve used these, it’s impossible to be happy with ones of lesser quality.
Another tool in constant use in spring is a good spring rake for cleaning up leaves and debris – one that can be adjusted in size is particularly useful. For getting out nasty weeds from cracks and crevices a dandelion weeder is invaluable. A small hand cultivator is very useful getting rid of surface weeds and for scuffing up the soil. I like to have a trowel on hand to dig up little treasures that need to be relocated. Look for a trowel with a good sturdy handle that feels balanced in your hand. A lot of wrist stress can be avoided by using a trowel that absorbs some of the knocks and pressure used in digging. A padded kneeling mat is nice to either kneel or sit upon on the damp ground. Once you have all your equipment in order its time to venture outside.
If you haven’t touched the garden in a while there will be lots to do but before you get into trouble physically on the first day out – remember, pace yourself. Too much time spent digging heavy wet soil is not recommended, Neither is being bent over for hours weeding or wobbling about on a ladder pruning, All of there are tough on unused muscles so go easy. Spend a little time doing some pruning, then switch over to digging and then hit the weeds.
In the flower garden, rake out and cut back all dead and ailing leaves. Clean up around plants that have heavy cedar droppings all over them. All the detritus that is left after winter makes great homes for baby slugs and other varmints to hang out, It’s eviction time! Check around the garden for any winter damage to trees and shrubs. Plants such as hellebores need all last years old diseased leaves cut back to the base, just be careful not to cut any of the flower stems.
February is a little early for pruning roses even though they are budding, In the meantime, remove all diseased leaves and pick up any that have fallen and dispose of them in the garbage.
If you have a vegetable garden this is the time to dig under any fall cover crops that were seeded last fall. Soil that is compacted by heavy rain can be turned over with a fork or cultivated with a three pronged cultivator. Add well rotted compost or other soil conditioner to soil and smooth over. During February, Broad Beans can be planted and if the weather continues to be warm, at the end of the month, peas can go in.
Most gardens can look pretty sad right now, even though all the new shoots bring promising thoughts. Time to inject a few little treasures that will brighten things up. Adding some colourful primula, Bellis daisies and even a few pots of forced bulbs can may a huge difference and then again, there’s no harm in adding a new hellebore or two.