You may consider the dandelion (pictured above) a weed but, in fact, its young foliage is delicious in salads Photo by Jan Ledermann on Unsplash.

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

April is the month of activity in the garden, and our old nemesis, the weeds, are beginning to rear their heads, so before we actually begin to extract the little devils before they get too large or strong, I feel that I must point out the benefits of many weeds.

Nettle, for example, 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. Whilst the young foliage of dandelions is great in salads and when cooked tastes like spinach and is healthy as it contains many nutrients.  Not to forget to mention that our songbirds and other wildlife depend on weed seeds as a food source.

But let us return to the actual weed-pulling, weeds must be pulled gently so the weed and roots do not break for when 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 I suggest applying an organic weed pre-emergent, with a corn gluten base by Bradfield organics.

ROSES

Photo by Bailey Chenevey on Unsplash.

Plant bare root roses at the end of April and container roses in mid May.  Add manure with a fine bark mulch about one foot from the base of the roses not now but in the middle of May. Check my March tips to refresh yourself on pruning roses.

Be careful clearing winter debris from around rhododendrons, mountain laurel and azaleas, these evergreens have shallow roots and you do not want to chance the roots being exposed. If the winter weather did indeed erode soil around any roots, add a few inches of soil to cover the exposed roots, at the same time resettle the plant in place and apply manure and fine bark mulch as well as some peat, which evergreens enjoy at the beginning of May.

In late April, plant gladioli corms at two-week intervals so that you will get a succession of bloom.  Planting the corms eight inches down; the extra depth helps keep the heavy blooms erect.

The Red Lily beetle is rearing its ugly head therefore I suggest applying organic Neem oil on the Lilies when they are about four inches above ground to help prevent and deal with this infestation.

SOIL SOLARIZATION

This 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 seem to 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.

MAINTAINING AN ORGANIC GARDEN

I urge you to throw away any pesticides and herbicides; they have the same effect as second hand smoke on you, your children and pets.  I am covering the state with my lecture on Garden Earth to reconnect people’s hearts, hands and minds with the nourishing energy of Mother Nature’s Life giving gardens. 

I am teaching people how to create a beautiful landscape but more important how to maintain it organically. That has always been the philosophy of my family’s heritage in landscaping and the same modus operandii is carried through in our company. Check ‘what to use in the garden ‘ on this website for all organic product sources.  

Manure all the borders with composted manure in bags from the garden center or aged manure from the bottom of the farmer’s pile. Mulch with a fine brown hardwood mulch, and in the vegetable garden when it comes time to mulch, mulch with manure which will not ‘cap’, meaning it does not form a crust like other mulches and therefore 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 and cut down on the mole population.    

The soil is the most important component of the growing business; compost, organic manure and peat amend the soil to rebuild its structure. The ratio is one part compost to three parts manure and applies peat to the planting mix in the ratio of one part peat to three parts manure when planting evergreens. 

Good soil structure assists with drainage, prevents compaction, and the rich nutrients that is the result as these amendments break down encourage the soil animals beneath the surface to work at full capacity. In a light soil such as sand, humus binds the sand particles together and in heavy soil such as clay it keeps the clay particles apart making room for air and drainage.  Other humus forming materials are leaves and seaweed tea which we will have for sale in the two few weeks has a root growth hormone, which assists plants to form a strong root system.   

Conditions in April are very favorable for new plant-root development, so with this in mind, transplant evergreen shrubs and new evergreens can be planted at the end of April.  With the organic manure and peat with the topsoil in the planting hole in the ratios I mentioned above. Give the roots a work out before planting to release them and open them up so the roots will reach into the surrounding soil for nutrients and water and will not dry out in the heat of summer.    

Organic fertilizer contains blood meal, bone meal, seaweed, poultry litter and natural grains. The bulky organic amendments mentioned above must be incorporated into the soil to improve soil texture and structure and many of the necessary nutrients to plants. 

Before and a month after you have applied the bulky amendments of manure and compost, test the soil to see if there are still some nutrient deficiencies, particularly in clay soil and correct these with some organic fertilizers. Its always better to under fertilize so go sparingly but do not be cheap with the bulk amendments.

When I moved into my farmhouse on the shore 14 years ago, I found soil that was sandy, which is good for drainage but without nutrients.  I began adding a few inches of manure to all planted borders in April, July and October and today when I put a spade in the ground to check the color of the soil in spring, it’s ‘black gold’. 

If you have used chemical fertilizers in the past, many of the soil organisms that play such an important role in maintaining natural fertility will have died off.        

The major plant nutrients are nitrogen (N), which promotes healthy leaf growth, phosphorus (P) for healthy root growth, and potassium for flower development and ripening wood. Other important nutrients are required such as sulphur, magnesium, calcium, boron and iron, but in lesser amounts.  The organic fertilizer provides all the important nutrients listed above.  When buying the products read the labels — if there is a word you cannot pronounce; it’s a chemical so do not buy it.  

The amendments and organic fertilizers are of plant and animal origin so gloves should be worn when using them as bacteria is present in them.  These bacteria are great for the plants and the soil but not good for your health.  These products tend to be slow acting; gradually making the nutrients available to the plant and the rewards are infinite.

Organic fertilizers are applied in spring around mid to late May when the plant has about six inches of growth; this allows for the fertilizer to become active when the plant is growing most rapidly.  Avoid applying fertilizers after the end of July as new growth may not go dormant before winter and the plant could suffer damage.  

As well as the amendments of organic aged manure, peat and/or compost you can incorporate an organic root development enhancer like the seaweed tea by soaking the top four inches of the soil around the base of the trunk when planting trees and shrubs.  Top dressing organic fertilizers are scattered over the soil surface and around the base of the plant, avoiding the foliage. 

Organic soil enhancers like manure and seaweed tea, when applied to the soil, are most quickly absorbed by plants and are especially useful for container planting and these teas are excellent for feeding throughout the growing season. Foliar (aka leaf) feeds with the teas are a quick-acting tonic and are useful in supplying nutrients to plants especially in the heat and humidity of mid summer.  

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

DAFFODILS

The daffodils will soon be in bloom and when the bloom has past, do not cut the leaves of any of your spring flowering bulbs, the leaves send down energy into the bulbs to store for next season’s nutrition. 

WHEN TO PLANT ANNUALS

Do not be lulled into complacency with a few back-to-back warm days; we can still get a frost and I caution 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 experience the connection with growing things. 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 and the effects not only on you but our planet. 

I’ll see you in your garden in May.

Contact Maureen at maureenhaseleyjones@gmail.com

About the author: Maureen Haseley-Jones, pictured left, 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.

Photo by Masaaki Komori on Unsplash.

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 Sand 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 inviting and each morning on entering my lounge I inhaled their fragrance – so refreshing and uplifting. I keep extra bulbs in a brown paper bag in the vegetable keeper in the refrigerator and these bulbs, I am about to plant as the first blooms have gone by. With this method, I have a succession of bloom and fragrance in my home well into spring.

The Groundhog told us the other day that we have six more weeks of winter and there is much to decide and plan for in our gardens. The warmer refreshing breath of Spring will be here before you know it and we are filled with the anticipation that lives within all gardeners of getting outdoors and hands into the soil.

Lots to look forward to and I am asking respectfully that you garden organically.

In this country and around the world, one can clearly the results of pollution and climate change. And for gardeners, what this crisis is doing to Mother Nature and your own health in the form of poisonous pesticides and herbicides. The main producers of these poisons are Monsanto and other biological monsters who have been decimating our world for profit together with pollution and neglect that is destroying our planet.

We have been able to observe a result of the global warming in the colossal melting of the glaciers and how that has affected polar bears, causing their demise in great numbers through starvation and disease.

Bees, were killed in the millions when the EPA  sprayed over 14 million acres of land during the Trump administration, with these poisonous chemicals. Bees pollinate 70 percent of the world’s food and their demise is our demise. I feel confident that the new  administration will make changes to these practices to keep alive all living creatures on the planet.

Photo by Jenna Lee on Unsplash.

Last year was recorded as the hottest year on record for our planet.  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 also caused tornadoes, deadly hurricanes, earthquakes and recorded below zero temperatures this winter, together with heavy snow.

As gardeners our diligence is essential 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 garden is an important element in the quest to heal the planet. Through 20 years on my radio show WRCH 100.5 FM and through my Garden Earth lectures, I have received commitments from numerous people to discard all poisonous herbicides and pesticides, and to garden organically. The response had been tremendously positive towards producing 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 –aged manure. Manure either from the farm or in bags from the garden center.

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 disrupts our eco system and poisoning 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 COMPONENT

Step One:

Do not till soil – tilling breaks up soil structure. Add composted manure three times – 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, as we have not experienced deep frost therefore the soil temperature may reach 45 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 Two:

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.     

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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 others, which prevents these from washing away – it acts as nature’s slow-release fertilizer throughout the year.

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

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

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

PLANTING SEEDS

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 a week ago she started seeds in the greenhouse.

Feb. 20 to March 20 is the time for serious indoor seed planting here. I suggest that you check which garden centers are stocking organic seeds, or go online for the seeds  – 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 remote seed-sharing party with gardening friends and ask them to receive or drop off seeds at your homes while keeping a social distance.

Equipment to have on hand when prepping for seeding

Cheap envelopes, fresh sterilized potting soil mix, and sphagnum moss. Also seed trays, or egg cartons also cardboard milk containers that are cut down work well.  All containers must be scrupulously clean.

Sphagnum moss works well as a planting medium; the moss can prevent a soil-borne 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 due 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 it to houseplants or put it in the garden. Left-over 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 and not heat to thrive.

WINTER CARE OF HOUSEPLANTS

Photo by Alena Ganzhela on Unsplash.

My houseplants lift my spirits, even more so 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; violets do not like wet leaves.

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 enjoyable 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 dish.

POWER TOOLS

Check 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; the old adage always applies, “You get what you pay for.” Also check that there is enough twine, bamboo rods, and wire ties or nails, bags of manure and peat on hand.

BUYING MANURE

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

PAINTING FENCES & MORE

Photo by duong chung on Unsplash.

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 when you are able to paint, 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’, that being said, remember sandpaper, brush cleaner and whenever 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, paint with white paint. It’s a great feeling to see how much lighter and brighter the greenhouse is after a touch of paint and the glass 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, therefore it will 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.

TAKE A WALK AROUND THE GARDEN

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, enjoying their shape and bark without foliage.

FEED THE BIRDS … AND SQUIRRELS!

Photo by elvis bueno on Unsplash.

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 are apt to be bullies and the red cardinals, who, like the blue jays, can be rather territorial, leading the pack. Bring up the rear come the finches and house sparrows. Sometimes a bird appears arrives that I do not recognize and out comes my binoculars and Peterson bird book.

If you notice squirrels swarming the bird feeders, add some cayenne pepper to the birdseed and if that happens, 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.

THE SCENTS OF WINTER

Winter has its own distinctive fragrance, the fog, in the morning when the air is very heavy, thick and damp – a damp even more bone chilling than rain.  I can deal with that now 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’s smells 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 show his creations and who 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, pictured left, 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.
Contact Maureen at maureenhaseleyjones@gmail.com

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

Happy New Year everyone!

Recently on Dec. 21,  we experienced the Winter Solstice and turned the corner so that with each day, we move gradually from the dark into the light to a longer, brighter day.

A few weeks ago, I planted my Paper-white Narcissus on pebbles, with just enough pebbles to anchor the bulbs in place or you may use potting soil. I use tall glass vases and it is most important keep the pebbles moist with enough water to cover the bottom of each bulb.

I brought my Rosemary plant indoors in September, Rosemary are not hardy outdoors in our zone six and. I spray the plant twice weekly with 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 gets me out of the winter doldrums, which is particularly heavy this year with the pandemic, and anything I can do to lift my spirits is welcome. I know that the severe changes that are occurring with global warming combined with pollution in the air, water and the earth, are severely damaging our planet and I know this year, our new government will begin in earnest to heal our planet for ourselves and the future for our children.    

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 lifegiving bountiful gifts and spiritual energy.  

The 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’s 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 the natural brown mulch to provide protection and nutrition.

On a sunny day in January, take a walk round the garden to breathe in the fresh 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 back indoors, sitting 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 that you feel certain will make your garden sensational this year.   

Don’t be fooled, instead try to make 2021 the year for realistic and organized change. Please do not allow your imagination to go haywire and be caught up in the fantasy of the brightly colored, high maintenance garden pictures shown in the catalogues.  Suit your garden to your lifestyle that will work within your time frame 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 uninspiring landscape that in a few months, early spring sunshine and pleasant breezes will warm the soil. When the soil is dry enough to tread on, winter debris may carefully be cleared away. Then with a clean palette you can add that lovely layer of manure and compost (the ratio being three parts manure to onepart compost).

Following those tasks, I find it personally satisfying to make a clean edge on the borders, this simple task makes such a difference to the look of any garden.  With all that prep done, April showers will arrive, the sun shines and 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 and with rain, extra irrigation and sunshine to produce this delicious bounty. As we advance into spring, we can expect the invasion of the good and bad insects, moles, voles and other critters, which can be dealt with naturally.

Your memory of your garden from last season may be lost in the enthusiasm of a new season, so I am asking you to be kind to yourself, for last year you became overwhelmed with too much gardening, and not enough time to relax and smell the roses. 

Here are some suggestions you might follow to avoid that problem:

• Send some of your borders back to grass.
• Make 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.
• Plant small and medium size evergreen shrubs; some green, some blue and some of the lovely evergreen gold variety, amongst the perennials.  To these, add small flowering deciduous trees and shrubs that will 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 and that has 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 emerge in April.

Do garden fairies live here? Photo by Cosmic Timetraveler on Unsplash.

It is never too soon to introduce your children and grandchildren to the wonders of the garden and as an extra enticement, introduce them to the garden fairies.  Through the years I 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.  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’.

In the interim, the children became so excited and enthused about their lists and pictures of the fairies, for what you have shown them is the transformation of science into magic. These days we seem to have forgotten about fairy tales, dreams and magic; it’s 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 to enthusiastically plant and tend gardens of their own as adults. 

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 preferable 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 in your garden and despair when you feel that your garden never looks right, get in touch with a landscape company (like my son’s!) who will keep your budget in mind whether you want to do your own work, or wish for a design to install yourself.  

On the other hand, when 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?

Rhododendron Catawbiense is a stunning addition to any garden.

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 a garden, let us be honest and dispense with the myth that gardening is 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 that you are going to keel over.  

Then 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, right? Right!   

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 folks, 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 the 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.  

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, it 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 garden or two in your neighborhood; gardens which you have admired when they were in bloom and see what they look like in winter.  

I remember one of my professors when I studied at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew saying, “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 everyone, 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, pictured left, 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.
Contact Maureen at maureenhaseleyjones@gmail.com