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Gardening Tips from ‘The English Lady’ for May, ‘The Gateway to Summer’

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Dogwood is just one of the ‘darling buds of May,’ which comes into full bloom before the month is over.

“The darling buds of May” is such an apt phrase for one of the most enchanting months, which brings bloom on spring bulbs and flowering trees — the Amelanchier, the Dogwood and the Cherry to name a few — and new, awakening foliage on trees winking in the sun.  

Maureen Haseley-Jones

By now, you have probably removed most of the winter debris, pruned broken branches and re-edged borders. However, do not apply the composted manure before the soil warms up to 60 degrees. The soil needs to reach that temperature for the soil organisms to work with the bacteria of the manure, which produces nutrients for the roots of the plants.  I suggest, when shopping for garden supplies, pick up a soil thermometer to check soil temperature as I am sure the soil temperature will reach 60 degrees in a few weeks. 

As I walk around my garden, I notice our old nemesis, weeds, emerging everywhere.  Pull these up by hand, without breaking them together with the roots. If you use a tool, it breaks the weed and the broken weed pieces will take root and you will face hundreds more to get rid of soon.  Follow on the weeding with an organic corn, gluten- based weed pre-emergent by Bradfield Organics; this product will keep weeds at bay for quite a few weeks.   

Compost, Humus, Mulch, Manure & More

When the soil warms to 60 degrees, apply composted manure around daffodils and other spring bulbs so that soil organisms will produce nutrients to feed the bulbs for next year’s bloom. Also, a reminder to not cut down the daffodil foliage as the nutrition from the foliage is absorbed into the bulb for bloom next spring. 

Humus brings carbon from the air into the soil.

Also in a few weeks when the soil has warmed up, apply composted manure and a light layer of fine bark mulch to all maintained areas of the garden, again in July and finally in October before putting the garden to bed. The manure and mulch begin to build the humus component. 

Regarding types of mulch, only use the natural brown wood mulch — do not use the colored mulches, which contain chemicals, and do not use rubber mulch. 

A word of caution on Cocoa Mulch. This product is highly toxic to dogs and cats.  This product is manufactured by Hershey and sold in many large garden centers.  It is made from the residue of chocolate products and other ingredients and contains a lethal ingredient that has resulted in the reported deaths of cats and dogs that are attracted by the chocolate odor. This mulch contains Theobromine, which is a Xanthine compound with effects similar to those of caffeine and theophylline. The symptoms, which the animals experience, are seizures and death within hours.   

I wrote about the carbon component in my April tips but wanted to emphasize its importance by stating it again for you to build or continue to build the humus component in your soil . 

All living things, including us, are all carbon-based creatures. Humus brings carbon from the air into the soil.

Humus acts like a sponge and holds 90 percent of its weight in water. Because of its negative charge, plant nutrients stick to humus bringing nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus and other important elements to the plant, preventing these nutrients from washing away, acting like nature’s slow-release fertilizer.

Humus improves soil structure making it loose and friable, which helps plants to root in this environment with better access to nutrients, water and oxygen. Humus also helps to filter toxic chemicals from soil, much like carbon-based water filtration systems filter toxins from your water.

I also recommend that you go online to read this article in Scientific American to check out the dangers of Round-Up. This is the most dangerous herbicide not only because of Glyphosate, which is on the list by the World Health Organization as a chelating agent that causes cancer but also because of its inert ingredients. I ask that you are not swayed by the word ‘inert’ as the ingredients are anything but inert and those ingredients combined with Glyphosate are deadly to human cells. 

Flowering Trees & Plants

Forsythia is in bloom, lovely fresh yellow blossoms.  If the bloom on your shrub is not as prolific now, as it was in previous years, prune out the old sparse wood after bloom ends.  

Forsythia offers a yellow burst of color in May.

A favorite native tree of mine is the Amelanchier (common name is Shadblow Serviceberry so named for the Shad that run in the rivers at this time to swim upstream to spawn). This early spring blooming tree has creamy panicle blooms, followed by small green leaves and within weeks, red fruit, which is a delicious treat for our feathered friends. Before the birds eat all the fruit, you may want to pick some of the fruit which makes a delicious jelly for your morning toast.  

Here in my town of Old Lyme, the magnolias, cherries and Eastern redbud are vying with one another to show off their finery together with the graceful Dogwoods.  Following the recent rains, many of these trees are blooming at the same time or within a few weeks of one another. Their bloom will soon be over, then we can look forward to rhododendrons, azaleas and followed by mountain laurel in early June. 

Another favorite of mine is the Carlesii viburnum (also known as Korean Spice) with pink buds, opening to white flowers and their delightful fragrance fills the air outside my kitchen door. This viburnum grows to about five feet and can be tucked into many a border particularly in an area where you often walk by to inhale the fragrance. 

Covering the barn wall and scrambling up to the barn roof is my climbing hydrangea – bright green leaves emerging with hundreds of buds indicating that this beautiful climber will be laden with blossoms in summer. 

Tulips, creeping phlox, forget-me-nots, primroses and candytuft are bringing much-needed color to borders and rock gardens. 

If you have not had the opportunity yet, you can still prune your roses for another couple of weeks.  Pull back the old mulch from around the base of the roses and in two to three weeks, apply manure about six inches from the trunk of the plant. Then a week later reapply a layer of the brown natural mulch on top of the composted manure.

As well as building the humus component, these layers keep the roots cool, keep weeds at bay and help retain moisture. Do not mulch right up against the base of any plants as this encourages rodents to nest and gnaw on the plants. 

Beware of fungi that look like weird mushrooms in your mulch; this is called  Artillery fungus, which can adhere to the walls of your home and cause problems.  If you notice this fungus, you will need to remove all the mulch and get it off your property. 

Apply a small amount of lime and about three inches of manure around lilacs — they like sweeter alkaline soil, indicating the use of the lime. By now, you may have already applied lime to the grass, which also enjoys sweeter soil and organic grub control, which eliminates the Japanese Beetle larvae and therefore lessens moles as this cuts off their food source.  

Vegetable Gardens

A well-maintained 6 ft. x 24 ft. vegetable garden is documented as can feed a family of four for a year.

If you are making an organic vegetable garden this year; a garden measuring 16 ft. x 24 ft. can feed a family of four for a year; but keep the size within your needs and capability.  Don’t work the soil if it is too wet or too dry.  

Double digging is the best way to go, this takes time and effort but its well worth it – dig down about one foot and remove the topsoil, put the soil to one side, then dig down and loosen the next six inches of soil and add about three inches of composted manure then put back the topsoil and add another three to four inches of manure.  

Do not rototill the vegetable garden, as this destroys soil structure. Gently loosening the top few inches of the soil to aerate it, makes it friable and results in an excellent yield of fruits and vegetables. 

I prefer 6 ft. x 4 ft beds rather than rows; beds produce a larger yield of crops. In addition, beds make for ease of weeding and harvesting by having narrow compacted soil or grass paths (having removed lawn from the area) in-between the beds. 

The vegetable garden should be situated on the south or southwest side of the property for maximum sun exposure. 

Make sure you remove as many weeds as possible by hand, before you even begin digging.  

You need a water source close by as vegetables require lots of water, particularly annual fruiting vegetables like tomatoes, which are hydroponic which means they consist of a large amount of water. 

Rotate crops, by that I mean, do not plant the same vegetables in the same place as the previous year.  Using this method helps to prevent any soil- born diseases occurring.     

In the loosened soil, plant the vegetables plants so that they are touching, this forms a natural canopy, shading out weeds and helps retain moisture. 

I prefer to mulch the vegetable garden with composted manure, the reason being that manure, as mulch, does not cap. Capping is when mulch forms a crust, which does not allow water or air to penetrate to the roots of the plants.

Fence in the vegetable garden with a tall fence to keep animals out. At the base of the fence install eight inches of fine mesh chicken wire above ground and eight inches below ground to keep out the digging and burrowing animals. 

Organic Insect Control

Insects do not like fragrance so plant fragrant plants like marigolds, nasturtium, lavender, nepeta, honeysuckle and roses to name a few.  

Encourage lacewings, which feed on aphids by planting marigolds and sunflowers,

Attract ground beetles by laying a log or a rock on the earth, under which the beetles can hide. These useful insects are nocturnal and eat slug and snail eggs, cabbage maggots, cutworms and even climb trees to feed on armyworms and tent caterpillars.  

Mowing Tips

Following all the rain, your grass is hopefully a vibrant shade of green, therefore when mowing keep the blades of grass at about three inches tall; the taller blades attracts sunlight, promoting a healthier lawn. The taller blades also shade out weeds and help to retain moisture in the grass.   

Is your lawn “a vibrant shade of green?”

When mowing, leave grass clippings on the lawn, the clippings are a natural source of nitrogen. If you have clover in the grass, clover is an added benefit as clover takes nitrogen from the air and fixes it in the soil, as an additional nutrient for plant growth.

After flowering is over, prune flowering shrubs by 25 percent – do this task immediately before new buds set for next year. 

On a rainy day go shopping for any garden supplies that may be needed, then when the weather is dry, you can be outdoors doing what you love and not indoors shopping.  Buy good hoses, cheap ones will bend and crack.  

Peonies, Hydrangeas, Lilacs & More

Peonies need plenty of water to produce flower buds.  I had a 30 ft. long stand of Peonies in my field. The Peonies have been in the ground for over 50 years and are a sight to behold when in bloom.  I gave them lots of loving care with a light dressing of aged manure in early May.  In a few weeks, I  pinch off the side buds while they are still small, leaving the terminal flower bud on each stalk, which develops into a large main bloom.

Peonies are a perennial favorite.

Hydrangeas are a wetland plant and require plenty of water during the season, with the addition of manure and mulch around the base. If you have blue Hydrangeas and want a deeper color of blue, also add some peat around the base of the plant, the acidity in the peat produces the bright blue color.   

If you need to prune a Hydrangea, which has become too large, then prune it immediately after flowering, in EARLY SEPTEMBER, prune about 1/3 of the old wood and the weakest shoots. DO NOT WAIT, as Hydrangeas begin to develop bloom buds for next year later in September.  If you wait to prune it is likely that you will not have bloom for next year. 

The beloved Lily of the Valley is a delightful, sweet-scented flower,

My maternal grandmother’s favorite plant, the Lily of the Valley (pictured right in photo) will bloom in another couple of weeks. These lovely flowers are tucked on the small hill on the west side of my apartment, and I am so looking forward to gathering a few fragrant blooms to enjoy indoors.   

When the lilacs have finished blooming, pinch off the withered flower clusters, and do the same on the mountain laurel and rhododendrons in late June to ensure good blossoms next year. 

In mid-May apply composted manure, a light application of peat and fine bark mulch around all evergreens and rhododendrons, mountain laurel and azaleas; these plants are shallow- rooted and the mulch will keep the roots nourished, protected, warm and moist. 

Some annual seeds that may be planted outside in mid May are: Calendula, Coreopsis, Marigold, Nasturtium, Nicotiana and Zinnia.  

Frost – If you purchase annuals, on Mother’s Day weekend, place them in a sheltered spot on the south side of your home. Plant them no earlier than Memorial weekend as we can still get a late frost. 

Tuberous-rooted begonias, caladiums, cannas and elephant ears can be moved from porch or cold frame to a part shade area as the weather becomes warmer and there is no sign of frost in the forecast.   

If you staked trees, when they were planted last year, cut the stakes off at ground level, do not pull them out otherwise the roots of the trees could tear and be damaged.

Aphid tip: squish a few in your hand; dead aphids release a chemical that causes other aphids to drop off the plants. 

Another ants and aphids tip – if you drink mint tea, any leftover tea sprinkle on the bugs, as they do not like the smell of mint.  

A word of caution on mint – plant mint only in containers, mint is tremendously invasive and can take over your garden.

When planting annuals, perennials, vegetables, trees, shrubs or evergreens keep them watered.   

Houseplants can be moved outdoors for their summer sojourn at the end of May.  However, do not put your African violets outdoors as they will burn, move the violets to a porch that is covered and shaded, or keep them indoors in a window that does not receive direct rays from the sun.

Wait until the soil warms up at the end of May to set out Dahlia tubers.  

Roses are Red … and a Multitude of Other Colors

Roses are a constant delight in the garden. Photo by Lena Albers on Unsplash.

Roses are not the troublesome creatures you have been led to believe.  I like to plant David Austin roses; these shrub roses are repeat bloomers with lovely fragrances.  

Roses need at least four hours of sun per day, good air circulation, and excellent drainage.  During their growing period from the beginning of June to mid August; add a little extra composted manure each month; it may be applied over the mulch.  Stop adding the manure in August so that the roses can go into a slow dormancy. 

Roses like the same growing conditions as Clematis and can be planted together in a ‘companion planting’, which means they grow well together, with feet in the shade and head in the sun. Before you top up the soil around the roses when planting, add water and check if the soil drains, roses need good drainage.  Deep watering is recommended at least once a week. 

Plenty of stuff to keep you hopping folks and remember to keep your eye out for any pest trouble and when you spot it get on the ball immediately to avoid further problems.  Carefully discard all herbicides and pesticides; these poisons have the same effect on your health as second-hand smoke.  

Your garden offers an anchor for peace and quiet enjoyment.  Enjoy the warmth, the gentle breeze, the earth’s fragrance and bloom and please remember to breathe and stretch before any garden labor.  

Enjoy and I will see you in your garden next month.

If you would like, my son Ian of LandscapesByIan would be happy to talk to you and answer gardening questions or you may request him to visit your home for a consultation. The apple does not fall far from the tree and, in my humble opinion, Ian is more talented and creative than I!

About the author: Maureen Haseley-Jones is a member of a family of renowned horticultural artisans, whose landscaping heritage dates back to the 17th century. She is one of the founders, together with her son Ian, of, The English Lady Landscape and Home Company. Maureen and Ian are landscape designers and garden experts, who believe that everyone deserves to live in an eco-conscious environment and enjoy the pleasure that it brings. Maureen learned her design skills from both her mother and grandmother, and honed her horticultural and construction skills while working in the family nursery and landscape business in the U.K. Her formal horticultural training was undertaken at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in Surrey. 

Gardening Tips by ‘The English Lady’ for April, the ‘Month of Activity’

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Those April showers that come our way
They bring the flowers that bloom in May.
And when it’s raining, let’s not forget,
It isn’t raining rain at all, it’s raining violets.

Al Jolsen

Maureen Haseley-Jones

April is the month of activity in the garden, and our old nemesis, weeds are beginning to rear their heads, so we need to extract the little devils before they take hold and are difficult to remove.  

Having said that, I must point out the benefits of many weeds. Nettles are food for butterflies, clover extracts nitrogen from the air and fixes it in the soil, and oil from jewel weed soothes poison ivy rash. The young foliage of Dandelions is great in salads, it is healthy and contains many nutrients and when the foliage is cooked, it tastes like spinach. I also do not want to forget our songbirds and other wildlife, who depend on weed seeds as a food source. 

Weeds must be pulled gently so the weed and roots do not break apart for if this happens thousands of weed seeds will reseed and you will find yourself with an endless cycle of unnecessary weeding. When careful weeding has been accomplished, apply an organic weed pre-emergent, with a corn gluten base by Bradfield Organics; this natural product will keep weeds at bay for about six weeks. 

Surprisingly, weeds, like the clover in the photo above, can have many benefits.

Plant bare root roses at the end of April and plant container roses in mid- May.  In the middle of May when the soil temperature has reached 55 degrees, add manure and on top of manure, add a fine bark mulch about one foot from the base of the roses. Check my March tips to remind yourself on pruning roses. 

Be careful clearing winter debris from around rhododendrons, mountain laurel and azaleas; these evergreens have shallow roots and do not grow well when the roots are exposed. If the winter weather did erode soil around some roots, add some soil to cover the exposed roots, at the same time resettle the plant in place, then in the middle of May apply manure and fine bark mulch as well as some peat, which adds much needed acidity for evergreens.

Plant Gladioli corms at two-week intervals in late April. Planting in two-week intervals ensure you will get a succession of bloom. Plant the corms eight inches below the surface; this extra depth helps to keep the heavy blooms erect.

The Red Lily Beetle will soon begin to appear, so I suggest applying organic Neem oil on the Lilies when they are about four inches above ground, which helps prevent and deal with this beetle problem.

Soil Solarization is an effective way to control many soil-borne problems, specifically the tomato blight that causes fruit rot. Covering the soil with clear plastic at the end of April for one to two months can generate high enough temperatures in the top six to 12 inches of soil to kill pests, nematodes, weed seeds and many disease organisms like the tomato blight. This process has proved invaluable for home gardeners and the beneficial effects last for several seasons.  

To solarize, dig a trench several inches deep around the bed, and spread a thin, clear plastic film (1-4mils) over the bed.  Press the plastic into close contact with the soil and seal the edges by filling the trench with soil.  Leave the plastic on the soil until you are ready to plant tomatoes or other vegetables in about six weeks.  

When the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees, manure all the borders with composted manure in bags from the garden center or aged manure from the bottom of the farmer’s pile, then mulch with a fine, brown, hardwood mulch. 

Follow Maureen’s tips as to what to do now to achieve a vegetable garden like this come the summer.

In the vegetable garden after preparation and planting, then it is time to mulch. Mulch with the composted manure, which will not ‘cap’ — this means that it does not form a crust like other mulches so that air and water can get through to the roots of the plants where it is needed.      

If you did not apply an organic grub control on the grass in March, apply now to keep the grubs down, which will cut down on the mole population.    

The soil is the most important component of the growing business; compost, organic manure and peat alter the soil to rebuild its structure. The ratio to use is one part compost to three parts manure and apply peat to the planting mix in the ratio of one part peat to three parts manure when planting evergreens. And as mentioned above, peat adds the acidity, which evergreens need.

Good soil structure assists with drainage and prevents compaction. Meanwhile, the rich nutrients, which are the result of these changes, break down and encourage the soil animals beneath the surface to work at full capacity. In a light soil such as sand, humus — which is the combination of manure, mulch and carbon from the atmosphere — binds the sand particles together and in heavy soil, such as clay, it keeps the clay particles separate to make room for air and drainage.  

Growing conditions in April are very favorable for new plant-root development and it is the ideal time to transplant evergreen shrubs and new evergreens. Apply composted manure and peat together with the topsoil in the planting hole. Then give the roots a workout with your hands before planting which releases. Opening up the roots in this way enables the roots to reach into the surrounding soil for nutrients and water and not dry out in the heat of summer.    

Many years ago, when I moved into my farmhouse on the shoreline, I discovered that my soil was sandy, which is good for drainage but sadly lacking in nutrients. I began adding a few inches of manure to all planted borders in April, July and October. The result today is when I put a spade in the ground to check the color of the soil in spring, it is, ‘black gold’.  

Gloves should be worn when handling manure, which contains bacteria; the bacteria is great for the plants and the soil but not good for your health. These natural soil amendments tend to be slow acting; gradually making the nutrients available to the plants and the rewards are infinite. Composted manure is applied in spring around mid May when the soil temperature has reached 55 degrees and when the plant shows about six inches of growth. This method allows for the nutrients and soil animals to become active at the time when plant growth is occurring at a rapid pace. 

Daffodils are blooming; what a lovely sight to see! Photo by Sarah Mitchell-Baker on Unsplash.

When the Daffodil bloom has past, do not cut the leaves from Daffodils or any of your spring flowering bulbs, the leaves send down energy into the bulbs to store for next season’s bloom. 

April is the time to tackle a new lawn or patch seed, use only good quality seed and organic fertilizers.   

Do not be lulled into complacency with a few back-to-back warm days; we can still get frost, so I caution that you not to plant annuals until Memorial weekend.  Do not cultivate around the perennials in the borders until mid-May. Do not panic if you were not able to get the April tasks done until May, your garden will wait for you and the constancy that is Mother Nature will continue to keep your patch of earth flourishing. 

Enjoy the pleasure of being outdoors in warmer temperatures, inhaling the pungency of awakening soil and your connection with Mother Nature. Do not overdo it; warm up the body before the garden labor and stay well hydrated with lots of water. We are inexorably entwined with the earth and know that even the smallest gesture of a garden has positive rewards; the effects are not only on you but on our planet. 

I will return with more gardening tips in May when you will be out in the garden in full force.

About the author: Maureen Haseley-Jones is a member of a family of renowned horticultural artisans, whose landscaping heritage dates back to the 17th century. She is one of the founders, together with her son Ian, of, The English Lady Landscape and Home Company. Maureen and Ian are landscape designers and garden experts, who believe that everyone deserves to live in an eco-conscious environment and enjoy the pleasure that it brings. Maureen learned her design skills from both her mother and grandmother, and honed her horticultural and construction skills while working in the family nursery and landscape business in the U.K. Her formal horticultural training was undertaken at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in Surrey. 

Gardening Tips for March from ‘The English Lady’

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‘Those March winds shall blow, and we shall have snow and what will the Robin do then, poor thing?
He’ll hide in the barn and keep himself warm and hide his head under his wing’.  

Maureen Haseley-Jones

March is a month of ‘wait and see’ as we anticipate walking around our gardens. This morning I walked outside, into a westerly breeze and a gentle sun. I took a deep breath and as I did, I caught the rich fragrance of the soil beginning to awaken.

All of us are itching to get into the garden and I believe that foray will be earlier than last year since frost did not penetrate deep into the ground. 

The sodden soil will dry out in the next few weeks, but I urge you to tread gently as you tend the soil, which is our precious commodity of Mother Nature. In that regard I am asking that you do not till the soil as tilling damages soil structure and can break friable root systems. 

I am asking you to be patient right now. I know you are chafing at the bit to get your hands into the soil, however, I suggest you continue planning for the upcoming season. Planning means organizing, which prevents gardening mistakes.  

When you go outdoors, check the trees in your garden to decide what might need pruning, which limbs need to be removed or the canopy lifted to allow more sunshine into that area of the garden. Now is the time to call in an arborist, as tree branches without foliage takes less time for arborists to do the tree work and the work is therefore less expensive.

If you would like branches with blossom like these, it’s time to think about trees.

What to look for with trees:

Are there broken or dead limbs? What branches require cabling? If a tree appears to be 50 percent dead, then it should be removed. 

A medium shade area can be changed to a dappled shade area, allowing more sunlight in by thinning out the upper tree branches or tree canopy.

Perhaps you would like a tree removed to transform a shade area to a sunny spot which allows for a larger choice of plants available to you.  

I always hesitate to remove a healthy tree but sometimes a tree may have been planted too close to the house and consequently the roots have undermined your home’s foundation and the shading over the roof has resulted in mold and mildew. 

There is an art to tree work … knowing how, when and why to cut. Work on the trees should be carried out by a professional so that at the completion of the work, the effect is both practical and aesthetically pleasing. An experienced arborist will also take into consideration the health of the trees. Having the work done by an arborist avoids injury: falls from ladders or perhaps tree branches or trees falling on you.

PRUNING

This is a task that you may feel you are able to accomplish yourself. 

March is the month to prune evergreens before the new growth appears. 

Hedges can be sheared for shape, so that any stubby ends will be concealed by new spring growth.  Please keep to the natural shape of the shrub – no round balls. 

Prune Spirea to six inches from the ground.

In April, prune Lavender to three inches.

In late March, prune Sweet Pepper Bush (Clethra), cutting out the oldest branches.

Lilac – Prune back all old branches to various lengths before leaf growth begins, from two to five feet, keeping to a natural shape. Sprinkle lime around the base of the Lilac and add manure in May.  Lilacs enjoy alkaline soil and receive benefits from a small amount of lime sprinkled about a foot away from the base of the Lilac.  

Prune Butterfly Bush to two feet from the ground and in May apply composted manure around the base. 

Prune Forsythia after it has bloomed, pruning out sparse flowering old wood.

Prune forsythia after enjoying its yellow burst of spring color.

Prune roses when the forsythia blooms.  If the roses have only been in the ground for one year, do not prune, wait until October.

Do not remove the protective mulch from around the base of the roses, wait until mid May, and then apply a dressing of manure and fine bark mulch.  

You may be asking, ‘Why wait until May to apply manure?’ The answer is that the soil needs to warm up to 55 degrees otherwise the nutrient benefits of the manure bacteria that works with plant roots and soil organisms are not activated. I suggest you invest in an inexpensive soil thermometer to check the soil temperature. At a soil temperature of 55 degrees, apply a three to four-inch layer of composted manure. 

When April arrives, carefully begin to clear away winter debris, treading carefully on the soil to avoid damaging soil structure and friable root systems. When you have cleared away the debris, make a clean edge to the borders with a sharp spade; this makes such a difference to the look of your garden. 

The best tool to use is a sharpened lawn-edger, the blade is a half-circle nine inches wide and 4.5 inches deep with a flat top – this tool creates a deep edge. Face the bed and thrust the edger down to its full depth and push the cut soil into the bed. Continue along and then remove the spade and surplus clumps of soil and grass.

Edging was one of the first lessons I was taught at our family nursery in England; my great grandfather was a strict taskmaster standing over me until I got the edge correct. 

When you start planning a new flower bed, think about where you may choose to sit to enjoy the bloom, fragrance and structure of your plantings. 

If you are contemplating the location of a new planting bed or expanding an existing one, here are some tips:

Think in terms of where you spend your leisure time outdoors, and where you may choose to sit, in close proximity to the new bed, to enjoy the bloom, fragrance and structure of your plantings. 

From indoors are you able to view and enjoy the new border?

Is it an area where there will not be drainage problems, erosion concerns or water pooling?

Is it convenient to tend and enjoy where you place a bench or chair?

Will you be able to water it with relative ease?

For an informal garden I prefer a curved bed – a curved line gives grace and fluidity. I lay out a garden hose in the desired shape and size of bed, adjust the hose until you are satisfied with the gentle curves. 

As previously mentioned, the best tool to use to edge or cut out a new bed is a sharpened lawn-edger.

MANURE

Many of you, who have been my radio listeners and lecture audiences, know how I feel about that wonderful natural product. Manure is not a fertilizer – it builds soil structure, aids in drainage and its bacteria encourages the millions of soil animals below the surface to come alive and work with the manure bacteria to produce nutrients for the roots of the plants.

Types of manure:

Poultry manure – I know the odor can be rather objectionable, however, this manure contains about 2 percent nitrogen, one of the highest levels in any manure. If you have access to poultry manure, allow it to age for two months and then add it to the garden.

Horse manure is about 0.5 percent nitrogen. If you obtain horse manure from a stable, which has sawdust on its floors – it should be pretty weed free. What I have done in the past is obtain horse and cow manure from stables and farms in April.  When you get it home, spread manure out in a flat area (not in a planting bed) then cover it with a tarp for a month. Using this method, the tarp will suffocate the weed seeds and the sun on the tarp encourage the manures to continue to decompose. A week before using horse and cow manure, remove the tarp to allow the sun to further decompose it. 

Cow manure is 0.25 percent nitrogen and is the most available manure.  If you get horse and cow manure from the farm, ask the farmer to give you manure from the bottom of the pile so that it is already partially decomposed. 

Compost pile – If you do not have a compost pile, maybe it could go on your list for this season. Vegetable waste from the kitchen, plus grass clippings, and wood pruning can be added to the pile. The high temperature in the compost kills the weed seed and cooks all those other necessary ingredients.  The ratio of compost and manure for your garden is one part compost to three parts manure – but if you do not have compost – manure will do the trick. 

**DO NOT apply fresh manure to the garden, as it will burn the plants.  If you do not have a source of manure from a farm, purchase composted manure in bags from the garden center.

Manure builds soil structure and aids in drainage. Its bacteria encourage the myriad of soil animals below the surface to come alive and produce plant root nutrients.

To produce the best-planting environment, resulting in a soil that is ‘black gold’ apply three inches of composted manure to all planted areas in May, July and October.    

Natural fine bark Mulch can be added later in May. Do not use buckwheat mulch as it flies everywhere. Do not, I repeat do not use cocoa mulch, which is poisonous to dogs and cats and please do not use the chemically colored red mulch.  The benefits of natural fine bark mulch are, that mulch helps to retain the beneficial moisture in the soil and aids to retard weeds as does Bradfield organics, a corn gluten weed pre-emergent.  

THE HUMUS COMPONENT
I know I have written about the importance of the Humus component for the soil but I feel I must continue to stress this fact. In 1937 Franklin D Roosevelt told us ‘that the nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.’

Unfortunately, America has not heeded that warning. Precious soils in this country and around the world are being destroyed by dangerous practices used in industrialized agriculture as well as poisonous chemicals, which completely disrupts our eco system and poisons all living things.

In your own garden you can build and retain a rich growing environment by building the Humus component. We are all carbon-based creatures as is all life on earth. Not only humans but also our soil microbes need carbon to flourish. To attract carbon from the atmosphere into your soil you need to build the humus component. 

HOW TO BUILD THE HUMUS COMPONENT
Do not till soil — tilling breaks up soil structure.  

Step 1
Add composted manure three times – in spring when the soil has reached a temperature of 55 degrees.  If the soil has not reached that temperature, the soil organisms are not able to work with the bacteria in the manure to produce nutrients for the roots of the plants.  

This year, as we have not experienced deep frost therefore, the soil temperature may reach 55 degrees by the end of April or early May.  Add the manure again in July to continue to nourish your growing plants and again in October to protect and nourish your plants and roots through winter. Manure is not a fertilizer; it builds soil structure and works with all the soil animals to keep a healthy disease- free growing environment.  

Step 2
Add wood chips in the form of brown fine bark mulch or wood chips that you produce from your garden; these are aged wood chips combined with leaves, twigs and branches. 

These two major steps build the humus component. If you do this in your own garden – not only, will you be helping to heal the planet but also produce the healthiest of gardens. 

A question I am often asked is ‘can I put manure over mulch in my summer garden’? The answer is ‘yes’ – the manure together with nature’s moisture and your own irrigation enables the manure to find its way easily into the soil and to the roots of your plants.     

WHAT EXACTLY DOES HUMUS DO?

Humus acts like a sponge and can hold 90 percent of its weight in water. Because of its negative charge – plant nutrients stick to humus for nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus and minerals, which prevents these from washing away and acts as nature’s slow- release fertilizer throughout the year.

Humus improves soil structure making it loose and friable, which helps plants to root in this soil to get better access to nutrients, water and oxygen. It also helps to filter toxic chemicals from the soil, mulch, like carbon-based water filtration systems filter toxins from your water. 

We are not able to control industrialized agricultural practices – but in your own garden you can make a difference, if you feed the soil, it will feed the plants. 

Once again, I’m getting a little ahead of myself. So back to a cloudy day at the end of March, when you may gradually begin to remove protective covering from shrubs and small trees. In exposed garden areas, where wind is a problem, leave the covering on until mid April. Cold wind is more damaging and drying to plants than extreme cold and frost.   

FROST HEAVE:

If some perennials, trees and shrubs have heaved out of the ground, cover the roots with fresh topsoil or mulch until mid May when they can be settled back in place.   
I just walked around the corner of my house to check on my trellis on the chimney where I have roses and clematis planted together. Roses and clematis are a delightful combination in a companion planting.

This planting method means that the rose and the clematis planted together have the same growing needs, ‘feet in the shade and heads in the sun.’ Beginning in May, add manure and mulch around the base of both. Discontinue feeding roses and clematis in mid August; this enables both plants to go into a necessary slow dormancy. 

BACKSCRATCH:
When the lawn has dried out in April, rake lightly and remove excess debris such as leaves and dead twigs.  Raking gently raises the mat of the lawn, which enables the emerging grass to breathe again. Aerating machines are useful to develop a healthy lawn.  Puncture holes with the aerator and pull out plugs of soil every four to six inches; following this treatment, root development takes off and thatch is reduced.  Do not use the large thatching machines, as these machines damage the grass.  

GRASS FERTILIZER:
In April, apply organic fertilizer, lime and organic grub control before the grass begins to grow. Reseed bare or sparse spots after gently loosening the soil, liming and fertilizing, then cover the seed with salt hay to keep the seed warm and to prevent wind from blowing the seed away.  Water the seed for the first three weeks. Do not blast the area with water, which scatters the seeds. As with lilacs, grass enjoys alkaline soil which is why we use lime together with the fertilizer and grub control.  

MOLES: 
To keep the mole population to a minimum in your garden; apply organic grub control once a month from March for two months; less grubs, less food for the moles. When you see signs of moles, find the mole holes and insert Exlax, which contains Senna, an organic herb. The moles eat the Exlax, become dehydrated from defecation and die.  Apply organic pre-emergent crabgrass killers in March and April.  

VOLES:
Spread castor oil around the base of plants and keep mulch away from the base of the plants so that voles, which are canny creatures, are not able to hide there and gnaw on plants and roots. 

DEADHEAD:
Do not cut off the leaves of the crocus as they bloom; the leaves make food for the bulbs for next season’s bloom.

DAFFODILS:

When the green shoots emerge, spread composted manure around the plants.    

DAFFODILS FOR DISPLAY INDOORS:

The stems release a sap like “goop” that harms other flowers.  Before adding Daffodils to an arrangement, cut the stems at an angle, and leave them in a vase half filled with lukewarm water for a couple of hours.  Discard that water and add the Daffodils to the other flowers.  If you recut the stems, you will need to repeat the process. Change the water in the vase often.  

PERENNIALS:

In May when perennials are about four inches above soil level and when the soil is 55 degrees, apply composted manure around them to encourage healthy growth.    

DIVIDING PLANTS:

At the end of April or beginning of May, you can divide late blooming perennials that have been in the ground for four years or more; these new divisions encourage stronger bloom.

Discard the older, inner parts of the clumps and plant the new outside portions.  Do not plant the new divisions any deeper than they were originally in the ground. 

When dividing Irises – barely cover the root system so they do not fall over – if Irises are planted too deep they will not bloom.

Pansies: pick the flowers regularly to encourage more bloom.   

March is the time to plant the following seeds indoors: gaillardia, salvia, marigold, zinnia, petunia, snapdragon, stock and verbena. Before planting these seeds, soak them in warm water and plant them in sphagnum moss or coir. Coir is the outer shell or fiber of the Coconut, either of these two mediums prevents a disease called “damping off”, which can cause seeds to rot before germination.

Cover pots and seed trays loosely with plastic wrap, which creates a mini greenhouse, providing moisture which seeds require to germinate.  

NOTE: Remove the plastic once the seeds have germinated, as the soil needs to drain and needs air circulation around the emerging stems.  

If you are going away on business, or on vacation reapply the plastic wrap over the pots and trays and prop some sticks or skewers in the corners. While you are away the seedlings will stay moist, and the sticks or skewers ensure that the seedlings do not encounter the plastic. 

March is the time to start tuberous begonias, and caladiums indoors.

DORMANT SPRING SPRAYING of fruit trees, flowering cherry, crabapple, hawthorn, mountain ash and lilac can be done before the leaf buds open. 

Call a professional company and request that they use only organic products.  

Houseplants – repot them if they need repotting in April.    

GERANIUMS: The plants that you brought indoors at the end of last season, check them for new side shoots, then cut them back to four inches and repot them in clean pots about an inch and a half larger with fresh potting soil.   

Well, fellow-gardeners, I know you are getting excited to be in your gardens this season and I hope that these tips have given you plenty to think about to keep you busy for a while. See photos of lovely gardens that my son Ian has designed and if you wish to contact Ian for a consultation, visit his website at LandscapesbyIan.com.

Enjoy being outdoors in spring sunshine and I look forward to seeing you in your garden in April.  

About the author: Maureen Haseley-Jones is a member of a family of renowned horticultural artisans, whose landscaping heritage dates back to the 17th century. She is one of the founders, together with her son Ian, of, The English Lady Landscape and Home Company. Maureen and Ian are landscape designers and garden experts, who believe that everyone deserves to live in an eco-conscious environment and enjoy the pleasure that it brings. Maureen learned her design skills from both her mother and grandmother, and honed her horticultural and construction skills while working in the family nursery and landscape business in the U.K. Her formal horticultural training was undertaken at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in Surrey. 

Gardening Tips for February from ‘The English Lady’: When ‘There is Everything to Hope for and Nothing to Regret’

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Paper-white narcissi have a beautiful and uplifting fragrance. Photo by Jonathan Diemel on Unsplash.
Maureen Haseley-Jones

This winter, as in other winters, when I need a blossom boost, I have enjoyed the fragrance of paper-white narcissus that I planted in tall glass vases. I surrounded the bulbs with seashells from White Sands Beach here in Old Lyme and kept them in a dark cool area keeping them moist as the roots developed.  When the bulb foliage reached about six inches, I introduced the bulbs to indirect light.

The fragrance of this plant is so refreshing and each morning when entering my lounge, I inhaled it and felt immediately uplifted and ready for my day. I keep extra bulbs in a brown paper bag in the vegetable keeper in the refrigerator. These bulbs, I plant when the first blooms have gone by. With this method, I have a succession of bloom and fragrance in my home into spring. 

In his annual appearance this year, the Groundhog let us know that we have six more weeks of winter. On that note, it’s a recognition for all gardeners that there is much to decide on and plan for this season in our gardens. The warm breath of Spring will be here before you know it and we will be filled with the anticipation that lives within all gardeners to get outdoors and plunge our hands into the soil. 

For all of us gardeners, there is so much to look forward to and, to reiterate my modus operandi, I continue to stress the importance for you to garden organically. In this country and around the world, the results of pollution and chemicals are just some of the factors that are causing climate change. 

We are in a crisis, with invaders that have already battered down the gates and invaded our gardens. These invaders are destroying Mother Nature and your health in the form of poisonous pesticides and herbicides. The main producers of these poisons are Monsanto, Bayer and other biological monsters, who have been decimating our planet, our soil, human health and doing all those monstrous crimes purely for selfish profit.

We have all been able to observe the result of the global warming in the colossal melting of the glaciers and how that has affected polar bear population, causing their demise in great numbers through starvation and disease. Here in the United States, we have seen the terrible floods and tornadoes and recently in California, the catastrophic flooding and mudslides. 

Bees have been killed in the millions when our EPA under the Trump administration allowed the spraying of over 14 million acres of land, with poisonous chemicals. Bees pollinate 70 percent of the world’s food and their demise is our demise. 

Last year was recorded as the hottest year on record. In this country, the drought in the west, that resulted in dry tinder conditions, caused devastating fires that brought death and destruction to many in California, Oregon and Colorado. Extreme weather patterns evident in the blizzards throughout this country and the deadly hurricanes are due to the rise of our oceans and the result of warming water. Climate has also had a tragic effect on  earthquakes as we see in Turkey and Northern Syria. 

Please do not listen to the naysayers who deny climate change, tell them to open their eyes to witness the results.  

As gardeners, it is our task to help counteract these negative changes by using only organic methods of gardening on your own plot of land; what we do is in our own small patch of earth all contributes to healing the planet.

Over the span of over 20 years on my radio show WRCH 100.5 FM and through my Garden Earth lectures, I have received a commitment from thousands of people to discard all poisonous herbicides and pesticides and to garden organically. The response had been tremendously positive in the production of healthy gardens grown in healthy soil. 

It begins by what you put into the soil for the growth of the plants,  accomplished by adding liberal doses of my favorite stuff – manure. Manure either from the farm or in bags from the garden center. The following insert is from a book I am writing on gardening and the humus component.

In 1937, Franklin D Roosevelt said that ‘the nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.’

America has not heeded that warning. Precious soils in this country and around the world are being destroyed by dangerous practices in industrialized agriculture and poisonous chemicals, which completely disrupt our ecosystem and poison all living things.

In your own garden, you can build and retain a rich growing environment by building the Humus component. We are all carbon-based creatures as is all life on earth. Not only humans but also our soil microbes need carbon to flourish. And to attract carbon from the atmosphere into your soil you need to build the humus component. 

How to Build the Humus Content

Do not till soil – tilling breaks up soil structure.  

Step #1
Add composted manure three times each season –beginning in spring when the soil has reached a temperature of 50 degrees.  If the soil has not reached that temperature, the soil organisms are not able to work with the bacteria in the manure to produce nutrients for the roots of the plants. Purchase a soil thermometer to check the soil’s temperature. 

This year, following deep frosts the soil temperature may reach 50 degrees by the end of April to early May.  Add the manure again in July to continue to nourish your growing plants and again in October to protect and nourish your plants through the winter. Manure is not a fertilizer; it builds soil structure and works with all the soil animals to keep a healthy disease-free growing environment.  

Step #2
Add wood chips in the form of brown fine bark mulch or wood chips that you produce from your garden of aged wood chips with a combo of leaves, twigs and branches. 

These two major steps build the humus component. If you do this in your garden – not only will you helping to heal the planet but also produce the healthiest of gardens. 

A question I am often asked is, ‘Can I put manure over mulch for example in my July garden’? The answer is ‘yes’ – the manure together with nature’s moisture and your own irrigation enables the manure to find its way easily into the soil and the roots of your plants.     

What Exactly Does Humus Do?

Humus is a critical ingredient in any garden.

Humus acts like a sponge and can hold 90 percent of its weight in water.

Because of its negative charge – plant nutrients stick to humus for nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus and other elements, which prevents these from washing away and acts as nature’s slow release fertilizer throughout the year.

Humus improves soil structure making it loose and friable, which helps a plant root in the soil with better access to nutrients, water and oxygen.

Humus also helps’ filter’ toxic chemicals from the soil, much like carbon-based water filtration systems that filter toxins from your water. 

We cannot control industrialized agricultural practices, however, in your own garden you can make a difference. Feed the soil and it will feed the plants. 

I have made statements about the humus component in tips, but I cannot over-stress its importance. 

Now on to the next topic, this week I spoke with my friend Ann, who lives in Cheshire, in England, which is next door to my home county of Shropshire. Ann is an avid gardener and she told me that her daffodils are well above the soil and last week she started seeds in the greenhouse.

Seed-Planting in Connecticut

February 20th to March 20th is the time for serious indoor seed planting here. Check which garden centers are stocking organic seeds or go online for the organic varieties – one company that I use is “Botanical Interests”.  Do not go overboard when buying packs of seeds as there are about 500 seeds in each packet.  If you do purchase too many – have a seed sharing party with gardening friends.  

Equipment to have on hand for seed planting– cheap envelopes, fresh sterilized potting soil mix, and sphagnum moss. Also seed trays, egg cartons and cardboard milk containers that are cut down also work well.  Make sure all containers are scrupulously clean. Sphagnum moss works well as a planting medium; the moss can prevent a soil born fungus that causes “damping off” which causes seeds to rot before germination. I have, together with many gardening friends used this method for years and have lost no seeds  to “damping off”. 

For tiny seeds, I use the moss as the planting mix and for larger seeds, I install a topsoil base and a layer of the moss on top of the soil. I mix fine seeds with sand before I sow; this method helps to loosen them up. Soak the seeds overnight before planting and just before planting spray them with warm water, never cold as cold water can delay germination. When they have germinated, water gently. 

The best method of watering seedlings is to water from the bottom. But, if you feel you must top water, just mist with a fine sprayer, otherwise you will drown the delicate seeds, washing them out of the planting mix. Use new sterilized soil when seeding and do not save any leftover soil, add leftover soil mix to houseplants or put it in the garden. Leftover soil from the previous year, can develop disease, which can ruin future seedling crops. If you are growing seedlings on a windowsill, place them on a south or west-facing sill; seedlings need light, not heat to thrive. 

Winter Care of Houseplants

My houseplants lift my spirits, especially in winter when the landscape is rather monochromatic. I talk to my plants enjoying the blooming variety and the different foliage varieties and thank them for cleaning the air in a stuffy home environment. 

Keep your houseplants away from draughts and direct heat. If you are able, have humidifiers and air purifiers in the rooms, which will benefit not only the plants but also your own health. Place pebble trays under the plants and keep the pebbles moist for additional humidity. 

Spray houseplants every few days with lukewarm water and once every couple of weeks, put the plants in a sink or bathtub and allow water to run freely over the plant to remove dust from the leaves and clean salt residue from the soil. The exception to the spray or soak rule is African violets as they do not do well with wet leaves. 

Houseplants can lift the spirits … especially in winter. Photo by Alena Ganzhela on Unsplash.

Aphids and white fly thrive indoors in winter and an organic sulphur solution called Safer works well to clean the soil of the insect eggs and from the foliage. Perhaps you are fortunate like me to have ladybugs in your home in winter; if so, allow these useful creatures to roam freely; the ladybug menu is aphids and white flies.  

The best time to repot houseplants is from April through June but if a plant has become root-bound with no visible soil, then you can repot them in February. Water the plant to loosen the roots from the soil, turn it sideways on a newspaper and gently slide it from the pot.  

Cut away any dead roots and repot in fresh potting soil in a clean pot that is only two inches larger than the original.  With the plant firmly in place and the soil one inch from the rim, water it gently and do not fertilize with an organic fertilizer until April.  Plants need this dormant period to recharge. 

A few suggestions for trouble-free foliage plants in the home are Rubber plants, Spider plants, Ivy, Philodendron, Monstera and Spaphyllum. If you have a sunny window Aloes, Succulents and Cacti do great and offer trouble free variety.   

Blooming plants sitting side by side with foliage plants, enjoying one another’s company, give one an impression of a miniature garden.

A few suggestions of bloomers are Cyclamen, African Violets, Kalanchoe, Primulas and Paper white narcissus. To prevent pets from chewing on the plants, add some cayenne pepper to the water when watering.  I enjoy using my herbal plants, which sit in a sunny window. My favorites are Rosemary, Basil and Parsley, which are great additions to any recipe.             

Power Tools

Gheck any power tools that require maintenance or repair. February or March is the time to get them into the repair shop, because as soon as the weather breaks the shops get busy and you may not get your lawn mower back until August.  

Check all tools and implements in the garage or shed. If you did not clean them off at the end of last season, plunge the shovels and spades into a bucket of sand; sand is an abrasive and will clean off any leftover soil and manure residue. Oil the wooden handles of tools with Linseed oil or some inexpensive vegetable oil; oil feeds the wood and keeps the handles splinter free. At the same time, check your hoses and fittings that may have sprung leaks since last year.

Make a shopping list of new tools that are needed – there are lots of sales in late winter for you to get a good deal. However, I suggest that you buy only quality tools and hoses; as the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” Also check that there are sufficient twine, bamboo rods, and wire ties or nails, bags of manure and peat on hand. 

Making a Shopping List & Other Reminders

In March or early April when soil and manure are available purchase bags of composted manure from the garden center. On the other hand, if you have a farm close by sells aged manure, acquire a small truck to acquire a load.  If you decide on that method, ask the farmer for manure from the bottom of the pile – aged stuff.  Manure needs to be at least six months old before applied to your soil, as fresh manure will burn your plants.    

Check the paintwork on your wooden fences, arbors, decks and any other outdoor wooden structures. Then, purchase paint supplies so that on a dry day in March for painting, everything will be on hand.  

Don’t forget to put paintbrushes on your list – I have a feeling you forgot to clean your old brushes last season, which means they are ‘stiff as a poker’, also remember sandpaper, brush cleaner and if  possible, buy eco conscious paint.  If you are painting benches and garden seats on a dry day, put them under cover before sundown. 

White walls in the greenhouse reflect light so any areas that need retouching, use white paint. It’s so rewarding to see how much lighter and brighter the greenhouse is after a touch of paint and the glass is cleaned.  However meticulously clean and tidy your greenhouse, you may find that white fly, greenfly and scale insects have found their way inside the greenhouse for warmth and so it may be necessary to spray with an organic spray. I mix an organic spray of orange peels in white vinegar and allow it to sit for two weeks before spraying – this works well and is very economical.   

Walking around a garden that looks good and feels good in mid-winter is a real pick-me-up. Patterns emerge created by paths, walls and hedges. As you walk, enjoy the shapes of shrubs, the shadows of evergreens and the strong silhouettes of tree trunks and enjoy their shape and bark without foliage.  

Keep the bird feeders full. I love to watch the birds in their quick flights across the garden to alight on the feeders, and their sudden bursts of song when the sun peaks through. It is so much fun to watch the “pecking” order and see the blue jays, who can be bullies and red cardinals, who like the blue jays can be rather territorial.  Bringing up the rear, come the finches and house sparrows. And sometimes a bird appears arrives that I do not recognize and out comes my binoculars and Peterson bird book. 

Watching birds on a bird-feeder is always a winter joy. Photo by elvis bueno on Unsplash.

If you notice squirrels swarming the bird feeders, add some cayenne pepper to the birdseed; if that occurs, do not be concerned as the heat from the cayenne does not affect birds. Choose a spot away from the feeders to sprinkle cayenne-free birdseed on the ground so the squirrels can also enjoy a meal. 

Winter has its own distinctive fragrance, the fog, in the morning when the air is very heavy, thick and damp – a damp that is even more bone-chilling than rain. I can deal with that for a while and know in about six weeks I will be inhaling the healthy, nose-clearing fragrance of the soil, rich and brown, well-manured or covered with wood mulch, shredded leaves or salt hay. Winter fragrances are a potpourri, one moment sharp and cold like the north wind, and spring’s flavors are light and sweet.

If you find you have spent year after year throwing good money after bad, it may be time to get a professional design, if that is so, don’t hesitate; if you want work to begin in the spring, a design takes time to complete. You may want to contact my son Ian, whose company LandscapesbyIan.com shows his creations and Ian will work with you and your budget. 

Have a great month and I’ll see you in your garden in March.  If you have any gardening questions, feel free to email me at MaureenHaseleyJones@gmail.com

About the author: Maureen Haseley-Jones is a member of a family of renowned horticultural artisans, whose landscaping heritage dates back to the 17th century. She is one of the founders, together with her son Ian, of, The English Lady Landscape and Home Company. Maureen and Ian are landscape designers and garden experts, who believe that everyone deserves to live in an eco-conscious environment and enjoy the pleasure that it brings. Maureen learned her design skills from both her mother and grandmother, and honed her horticultural and construction skills while working in the family nursery and landscape business in the U.K. Her formal horticultural training was undertaken at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in Surrey.

If you have any gardening questions, feel free to email Maureen at MaureenHaseleyJones@gmail.com.

Gardening Tips from ‘The English Lady’ for January, “The Month for Dreaming”

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Your yard in winter can be an anchor, connecting heart, body, mind and spirit to Mother Nature. 
Maureen Haseley-Jones is “The English Lady.”

I know it is only early January, but it is never to early to begin to plan for this season in your garden.  My motto has always been to plan, before action and production. Mother Nature is waiting for us with her gifts of renewal, growth and nourishment as we begin to plan for the coming season. She tells us that in this wonderful pastime called ‘gardening,’ we can escape from the trials and tribulations of our world. Each day we move gradually from the dark into the light to a longer, brighter day and welcome spring.

A few weeks ago, I retrieved my second batch of Narcissus from the brown paper bag in the refrigerator and planted them on pebbles, with just enough pebbles to anchor the bulbs in place or you may use potting soil. I use tall glass vases, making sure to keep the pebbles moist with just enough water to cover the bottom of each bulb.

I brought my Rosemary plant indoors in September, as Rosemary is not hardy outdoors in Zone six. I spray the plant twice weekly with warm water and run a cold-water humidifier and two germ guardian air cleaners with UV lights for personal health and the health of my plants.  

After planting the paper white Narcissus, I placed them in a dark, cool closet until the foliage is about four inches tall. Today I moved them from the dark closet to a cool room with indirect light and where the temperature remains at about 65 degrees. When the buds are almost ready to open, I will place them in a brighter area to be enjoyed, not only for their bloom but also the heady fragrance which permeates the house. The new bloom draws me out of the winter doldrums and their gentle fragrance lifts my spirits. 

Paper-white narcissi have a beautiful fragrance. Photo by Masaaki Komori on Unsplash.

I know that the severe changes, which are occurring with global warming combined with pollution in the air, water and the earth, are severely damaging our planet. Your personal contribution to saving our planet is to organically tend the soil with compost, manure and natural brown mulch, which builds the humus component in your soil. Your plants and vegetables will thrive, as will you. Throughout the year, allow your garden to anchor you, connecting heart, body, mind and spirit to Mother Nature’s life-giving bountiful gifts and spiritual energy.  

The cold, harsh winds of January and February extract moisture from trees and shrubs, especially the evergreens. Winter winds are more harmful to plants than cold temperatures, not only causing plant breakage but also soil erosion. For that reason, it is helpful to have a few bags of topsoil and mulch in the garage. With these items on hand, any roots can be covered when they become exposed by wind or frost heave. 

Roots exposed to the elements for any length of time can kill the plant, so when you notice exposed roots, quickly cover exposed areas with soil and mulch. When spring arrives, and the earth warms up, the plant can be resettled in place together with composted manure and natural brown mulch to provide protection and nutrition.

On a sunny day in January, take a walk round the garden and breathe in the freshening air, and as you walk, make some notes and decide what worked for you last year and what you will never try again. 

Later, when you are back indoors, relaxing in your armchair, browse through the catalogues that began arriving a few months ago. You have already begun making lists of plants that you are thinking of buying. However, a word of caution when gazing at the photos, which are meant to tempt you with their lovely but “doctored up” pictures of plants.

Don’t be fooled by these pictures, instead decide that this season in the garden will be for sensible and organized change. Do not allow your imagination to run amok and get caught up in the fantasy of the brightly colored, high-maintenance garden pictures you see in the catalogues. 

Suit your garden to your lifestyle and what will work within your timeframe and physical abilities. If you follow that construct, you will have the time to sit, relax and smell the roses, without being overwhelmed or disappointed.    

As you sit and plan for the coming season, it’s important to keep your budget in mind. It’s hard to believe as you look outside at the muted landscape, that in a few months, sunshine and gentle breezes will warm the soil and new growth will appear. 

When the soil is dry enough to tread on, winter debris may carefully be cleared away. Then with a clean palette, make a clean edge on the borders; this simple task makes such a difference to the look of a garden. Then in mid -April, add that lovely layer of manure and compost (the ratio being three parts manure to one part compost). With that prep completed, you are ready for the fun stuff — the placing and planting!  

For those of you who are vegetable gardeners and look forward to a bountiful year with fruits and vegetables; spring rain, extra irrigation and sunshine will produce delicious bounty. As spring moves along, so will the appearance of both good and bad insects, moles, voles and other critters, that can be dealt with naturally. My remedies for this problem I will give in an upcoming gardening letter.

Your memory of your garden from last season may be lost in the enthusiasm of a new season, therefore, I am asking you to be kind to yourself. If last year you became overwhelmed with too much gardening, and not enough time to relax and smell the roses, the following are some suggestions you might follow to avoid that problem:

For example, send some of your borders back to grass.

If you are tired of mowing all your grass areas, spread wild flower seeds in the grass and enjoy the pleasure of a prairie meadow.

Turn some of the high-maintenance perennial borders into mixed shrub borders. To accomplish this, take out some of the high-maintenance perennials and donate them to a worthy cause. 

In their place, plant small- and medium-size evergreen shrubs; some green, some blue and some of the lovely gold species of evergreens. With these shrubs displaying their all-season beauty, add small flowering deciduous trees and shrubs that begin flowering in April and successively through June. The Carlesii viburnum, also known as Korean Spice, is a favorite small shrub of mine, with its white buds that open to a pale pink with the most delightful fragrance.  

Add a Ben Franklin tree with its white cup-like blooms and gold center that flowers in August through September. 

Nestle three Blue Mist shrubs in the mixed border; this plant will delight with purple blooms and fragrant leaves into September. 

On a fence or trellis, plant white autumn clematis.

Add a groundcover as an evergreen framework – my favorite is Myrtle with its glossy leaves and miniature blue flowers that bloom in April.    

I feel it is never too soon to introduce your children and grandchildren to the wonders of the garden and begin by introducing them to the garden fairies. Through the years I have asked children to draw a picture of the garden fairy and make a list of questions to ask the fairies, who live in the wild patch in the garden. We all have a wild patch in the garden; and at this point you are probably saying, “Maureen, my garden is one large ‘wild patch.’ 

Children become so excited and enthused about their lists and pictures of the fairies because what you are showing them is the transformation of science into magic. These days we seem to have forgotten about fairy tales, dreams and magic; it is way past time to bring those wonderful energies back into our lives and into the lives of our children.  

In spring and on into summer I would find my children or their friends impatiently checking the garden wanting to see their planting efforts come into bloom. In the vegetable garden they gathered to check what was ready to eat from the produce they had planted. I have found that this introduction to the garden has inspired these children when they become adults to enthusiastically plant and tend gardens of their own.

My son Ian is a great example of this as he has partnered with me through the years in the garden – and thus the old adage that ‘the student is better than the teacher’ has certainly proved to be correct. Ian is a designer par excellence and I invite you to check his website LandscapesbyIan.com and his Facebook page for lovely examples of his work. 

In my March gardening tips, I’ll offer you some suggestions of ornamental trees, shrubs and long-blooming perennials. With that list in hand, it is a good idea to obtain your plants from local garden centers that carry tried and true plants that will flourish in Zone six.  

On the other hand, if you feel that over the years, you have been throwing good money after bad and you are feeling desperate because you feel that your garden, no matter what you do, never looks right. If that is the case then get in touch with a landscape company like LandscapesbyIan.com, who will keep your budget in mind whether you want to do your own work, or wish for a design to install yourself.  

But if you are planning your garden for this coming season, there are important facts to keep in mind:  

What are the plants requirements for sun, shade, soil, and water? 

Will they survive in this zone, Zone 6?  

What are the growth patterns of the plants?  Do they grow fast or slow?  

You do not want a 50 ft. tree up against the house with tremendous roots that will play havoc with your house foundation.  Or do you want that lovely but very large, Catawbiense Rhododendron, all 10 ft. of it, climbing through your dining room window in five years? 

To find those facts, either check the plants in a book, on the Internet or read the labels attached to the plants in the nursery. 

Check every aspect of the plant before you buy.  The red or green Lace Leaf Japanese Maple looks lovely in spring but is it something you can enjoy, without its leaves in the winter?  Personally, I not only enjoy the foliage of plants and trees but also the shape and bark of trees without foliage in winter.  

For those of you just beginning to garden, I must be honest and dispense with the myth that gardening is always a relaxing hobby. At the end of that first day of digging, lugging soil, manure and fertilizer, and planting everything at the proper depth; you will feel rather exhausted.  

At that juncture, you remember that you still need to water the newly-installed plants as you drag your tired body to switch on the hose. Thank goodness, the mulching can wait until tomorrow or next weekend.   

Watering by the way can be meditative. Imagine that the hose is your umbilical cord so that as you nourish the earth and the plants, the earth can nourish you. 

By now the sun has gone down, and you trudge indoors muttering to yourself, “What the heck did I get myself into?”  To this comment I say, “You did not have to tackle all of the garden in one day.”  

In gardening, there is always tomorrow, or next week, and even though the label says to plant it by the end of May or June, believe me folks, a few weeks later does not matter, the garden will wait for you.  

You may be saying to yourself at this point “Maureen are you trying to put us off gardening”? No, but I would remiss, as someone who has gardening in my blood (as well as manure) for over 400 years to tell you, however reluctantly, not only the pleasures, but some of what can cause aches and pains.

The idea is not to bite off more than you can chew.  For first-time gardeners, don’t scatter your energies all over the garden, tackle and complete one area at a time. That area should be priority one until it is complete.  

A water feature need not be elaborate. Photo by Dan Hayman on Unsplash.

If you have a new home with no landscaping, some hardscape may be required. Hardscape is walls, walkways, patios, ponds, decks and so on. The sound and look of a water feature in the garden is delightful. A water feature need not be elaborate, a fountain is fine – the reflection of water is Mother Nature’s mirror. If you are not able to do this construction yourself, get in touch with a landscape contractor now, so that a plan can be done now, installed and ready by spring. (I say to connect now as Ian tells me that many landscape products are short on supply this year.)  

All of these endeavors mean you getting yourself in shape physically, so get off that couch, put away the catalogues and your plant lists, stretch, then wrap yourself up in warm gear and take that walk.   

As you walk, look at the trees in winter, the elegant shape of them, the lichen on the stonewalls, and the moss tucked in cracks and crevices. Clear your mind and allow nature’s spirit to surround you. As you walk, look at a few gardens in your neighborhood; gardens that you have admired when they were in bloom and see what they look like in winter.  

I remember one of my professors saying to me when I studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, England, “In winter you can tell a really good landscape by its bones, without the flesh of flora and foliage.” In spring, get in touch with those neighbors whose gardens you admired and ask them some of the secrets of their garden. They will be happy to talk with you, not only of their successes but their failures – true gardeners are realists when they speak about their gardens and love to share.  

Well folks, I’ve given you plenty to think about right now so enjoy your daydreaming of the season to come and I’ll see you next month in your garden.

About the author: Maureen Haseley-Jones is a member of a family of renowned horticultural artisans, whose landscaping heritage dates back to the 17th century. She is one of the founders, together with her son Ian, of, The English Lady Landscape and Home Company. Maureen and Ian are landscape designers and garden experts, who believe that everyone deserves to live in an eco-conscious environment and enjoy the pleasure that it brings. Maureen learned her design skills from both her mother and grandmother, and honed her horticultural and construction skills while working in the family nursery and landscape business in the U.K. Her formal horticultural training was undertaken at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in Surrey.

If you have any gardening questions, feel free to email Maureen at MaureenHaseleyJones@gmail.com.