For gardeners, this is the most exciting and busiest time of year.
The garden looks colorful again. Everything is new, fresh, and blemish-free — just like what we see looking into a mirror. Oh, stop it, of course I am right. If not, install soft white low wattage bulbs, then all will be springlike.
Gardening priorities have to be made, as all jobs appear urgent. At times it seems impossible to keep up with all garden chores.
Here are a few To-Dos for right now:
- Prune: Butterfly bush by ¾; caryopteris and Annabelle hydrangeas by ½. Rose-of- Sharon mercilessly; forsythia with abandon.
- Leave the leaves: They are a natural, free mulch that doubles as ground nest for overwintering insects.
- Tidy: If you must tidy up beds, then top dress the leaves with mulch.
- Daffodils: Dead head. Allow leaves to yellow before cutting or lifting to spread out.
- Bluebells: Visit Brooklyn Botanical Garden to be captivated by Bluebell Wood. A sea of 50,000 are in bloom under mature oaks. Once you view them, you will be inspired to plant many at your property. Bluebells bloom as daffodils fade. They are small, easy to plant bulbs that multiply and are deer resistant.
- Catmint: Shear back to chubby stubs. Spread deer resistant catmint clippings around garden plants that are deer targets to aid in deer repelling.
- Hair: Ask your barber or hairdresser for cut hair to spread around garden as deer repellants.
- Perennials: Lift, divide, and transplant various perennials like phlox, astilbe, hosta, day lilies, catmint, bee balm, and Rose Campion. Discard weak, underwhelming, or infected ones.
- Herb pot: Plant and place near kitchen for easy access.
- Apply manures and fertilizers.
NO MOW MAY: It’s almost over. If you must mow, then set mower deck as high as possible to allow violets and clovers to bloom. Consider cutting biweekly instead of weekly all season long. Better yet, reduce your lawn size and add pollinator plants, which are attractive and beneficial to biodiversity.
STOP using chemicals. Most pest and disease issues can be managed on an as-needed basis.
STOP piling mulch into a volcano around the flare of a tree trunk. Doing so traps moisture against the trunk, promoting disease, attracting pests, and suffocating roots closest to tree flare. Pull mulch back from the trunk by three inches to expose the flare.
