March 29, 2014
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Cool day, go out anyway
It was a fine day, sunny and calm and 30°F. A massive, tangled
wisteria jungle on a big pergola awaited us. We were four
gardeners, we aimed to get 'er done and we tamed that beast!
The yard was awash but we needed to reach the burning bushes we
planned to cut back, before they leaf out. We broke out
the snowshoes!
The moral of the story: Spring doesn't wait. Don't delay, get
out there.
In Aiming for Answers, it's Finally Spring:
Admiring spring
Janet basically threw herself on the ground last weekend to
admire a daffodil about 3/8-inch out of the ground. Don't get so
carried away as she did but don't miss the show, either. It's going
to come very fast, now that some plants are a month behind...
plants that make a habit of leaping out of the ground even in a
normal year. Take a look at some beautiful spring
signs.
Wisteria pruning
Four of us tackled four wisteria vines that had accumulated
excess wood a little at a time over their 20 year reign. We sorted
out the main trunks, sawed off branches that had strayed beyond
bounds, and clipped off thin unbranched vines. We took off enough
wood to pack a pick-up truck twice over and called it a day. Take a
look!
Cutting to remove winter damage: Holly, Japanese maple
Where you see damage, better to prune sooner than later. How to
know what's damaged, how much to cut when you find it. We use
evergreen holly as an example (Ilex x meserveae), and
breathe a sigh of relief that Japanese maples are not examples,
this spring.
Wascally wabbits beat us to the punch
Danged rabbits! We'd planned to reduce the size of these shrubs
anyway, but had to cut back even harder than we wanted. See it, and
be prepared.
Snowshoes save the day
We have to stay off the wet ground, since our tread there is
enough to ruin soil condition for years. Yet the work has to get
done and there are just so many days available. We can place planks
and walk there but snowshoes allow so much more freedom of
movement, and might spread our weight even better than a boardwalk.
No
kidding, take a look.
Buying fertilizer
It's just about time to spread slow release organic materials on
beds so they'll be there for fungi, bacteria and other living
things in the soil to consume them as things warm up. That will
change the nutrients into forms the plants can absorb and put to
good use during spring's growth surge. If you're like most people,
you'll buy too little and fail to spread it generously enough. Check our
chart.
Breaking in new boots, and into activity once again
Whether you go out to rake, pick up sticks, clean up after the
pets or prune out what winter killed, treat your own self like
we're treating out new boots. Take it a little at a time and as
soon as you can feel the strain, take a break. More
about this.
Instant answer day: Advice in 140 characters or less
On Saturday, April 26 from 10 to 3 we'll be providing instant
answers on our Forum. We hope you will come help, or spread the
word to those who want answers right away to yard work mysteries
such as, "What is this?!" "Can I cut this down?" and "Is this a
weed, or what?" All the details.
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