Good Bye Snow
We have had a very long winter here in Southern Rhode Island. One month ago, we thought we would still have snow on the ground come April. However , thru all of the recent rains we have had, everything has melted away. The snow has covered our plants and lawns like a blanket, keeping all of those cold temperatures and winds off of them. This was one big positive of having all of the snow we did this season. The rain and sudden nicer temperatures have given us all a taste of Spring.
On the nice spring like days, it’s a good time to start walking around your yard. While you are out there, take a look around. There is surely something’s to take note of in your yard. With all of this wet snow and windy days we have had, there will be some branches broken. Whether or not they are on the ground depends on how well they broke off. If they are still attached to your plants, cut the damaged branch back to a node or to the branch that it is growing off of. A couple of people have come in with questions about their Hydrangeas. It is not time to cut them back. If you are like me and didn’t get to take all of the blossoms off of them in the fall, you can still do that.
Another thing that we have noticed in our yards, is our bulbs are starting to pop thru the soil. This is a good time to do any kind of cleanup around these bulbs now. If they are planted by ornamental grasses, cut back the grasses. If there are leaves, branches, stones, or anything else that you would want to move away from them, move them now. It will be easier for you and better for the plants to have it done before they grow too tall.
Ornamental grasses are one of the few plants that look beautiful in our landscapes in the winter. They give us some nice texture, movement in the wind, and the tan coloring to help our gardens look a little less bare. Now is a good time to get them cut back. We like to cut ours back to about 6 inches. If you have an older one that you have been cutting higher then 6 inches, then you might not be able to cut them that low because of how thick they have become, just cut them as low as you can.
The final thing that we are doing in our yards right now is raking. It is a good time to rake the stones out of our gardens and lawns from our stone driveways. Some of us love to have that perfect lawn. Well, you can not do too much to your lawn right now but you can start raking. Whether it is to clean up leaves that have blown over or to start losing up the soil. It is still to early to put any grass seed or fertilizer down. Now is a good time though to start losing the soil where you need to put some more seed down.
Stayed tuned to our blog as we get go through the growing season. We will be continueing to keep our blog updated with happenings around our store, issues some of our gardeners are having, and some great ideas on how to improve your yard. If you have any ideas, questions or comments, please feel free to send us an email to info@broadviewgardencenter.com and don’t forget to become a fan of Broadview Garden Center and Florist on Facebook. We will be offering great Facebook specials and posting pictures throughout the year! Happy Spring everyone!! Pansies are here!! Come on down and take a look at them.
