March
21, 2001
Spring
Has Sprung!
Spring is here, and I must say, in all its glory! What a
day! The kids and I treated ourselves to a day at the zoo
and what a great time we had. It was so much fun to watch
the kids eagerly run from one habitat to another, totally
enjoying themselves and looking at the animals as if it had been
years since they had seen them last. I think we were all
trying to release that pent up "winter" feeling
in one day. Needless to say we spent the entire day outside
and at the end of the day everyone in the family was exhausted
and ready for a good night's sleep. It is amazing how one
perfect Spring day can erase the horrible memories of
Winter. I certainly hope that there are many more
"perfect" Spring days ahead of us. Happy
Spring!
I would
like to welcome The Kelly Gallery as
our newest sponsor. Kevin and I were introduced to owner Kelly Daniels and
her husband Mark at the Metropolitan Lawn & Garden
Show. Kelly is a professional photographer and uses her
beautiful gardens as the setting for her portraits. And if that is not enough
they also operate "The Barn" where visitors can
purchase all manner of unique home and garden accents. I
encourage you to take a closer look at Kelly's work. She
has a distinct eye for capturing your children or family in a
setting that is quite spectacular.
Now is the
time to be visiting garden centers and nurseries in preparation
for this season's gardening. Earl May is a great place to shop for
selection, service and price. The Sweet Onion offers an
unforgettable shopping experience because of its history and
Yvonne Garmen. Yvonne is The Sweet Onion's Master Gardener
and is very knowledgeable and quite creative. Visit these
sponsors soon and don't forget to tell them how much you
appreciate them sponsoring Savvygardener.com!
~
Shelly
Clipping
Clematis...
Clematis can be a confusing group of plants to prune, since
they are not all pruned the same way. In fact there are three
methods that can be applied to major groups depending on the time
of year the plant flowers. The earliest flowering clematis
bloom on old wood, while later flowering types must produce new
growth in order for flower buds to form. Prune carefully,
since vines are usually well entangled. The complete
directions are a bit long to fit in this space so we published
them in our Features
section. Check out Pruning
Clematis...
Mix It
In...
Your garden soil is probably dry enough to allow for some digging
and tilling. (Remember if it crumbles like cake when
squeezed, it's ready for work.) While you're working the
soil in your vegetable garden go ahead and mix in some fertilizer and organic
material. Unless a soil test has suggested otherwise,
use 1 to
2 pounds of 12-12-12 (or equivalent) fertilizer per 100 square
feet of garden.
Crown
Jewels...
Planting asparagus? Don't dig too far down when planting
those crowns! According to the Virginia Cooperative
Extension asparagus yields
improve dramatically when crowns are set at a depth of 5 to 6
inches - not the commonly advised 12 inches. Contrary to the
standard practices of deep planting and not harvesting for up to
three seasons, recent studies show that harvesting shallow-planted asparagus after the first year boosts yields 40 percent
over three years. That's good news for all of us fresh
asparagus lovers!
Source
Gardening
Questions?
Get Answers from Savvygardeners!
Post Your Question on SavvyChat and Let Area Gardeners
Help You Out.
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Here Now!
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Rose
Tips by Al Karsten...
After a long winter's rest your roses are ready for some
attention. Our rosarian Al Karsten has returned from his
winter rest with a comprehensive look at what you should be doing
in your rose garden now and for the next 4 - 6 weeks.
There's also advice for new plantings. Give your roses what
they need! Read Getting
Started on the Growing Season...
Do Not
Disturb...
Our bulbs are popping up all over. I'll bet yours are
too! Look closely at your bulb beds. Are there weeds
popping up as well? If so remove the weeds by gentle hand
pulling. Removal with a cultivator or other weeding tool
may disturb the bulbs unnecessarily.
Show Starter...
Don't miss the Flower,
Lawn & Garden Show this weekend at Bartle Hall.
It opens Thursday at 11:00 AM and runs through Sunday at 6:00
PM. No, Savvygardener.com is not exhibiting (one show each
Spring is plenty, thank you) but our sponsor Missouri
Organic Recycling will be. Drop by and introduce
yourself!
What's
Hot On The Hotline...
Now that St. Pat's Day is safely behind us and the ground is
more suitable for potato planting the hotline has been getting
plenty of calls for information on 'taters. A salute to the
Irish potato is in this
week's What's
Hot on the Hotline...
Get A
Cue...
In gardening and lawn care timing is very important and not
always predictable. Sometimes the best cues for
specific actions come from nature and not the calendar.
Application of pre-emergent weed stoppers is a great
example. For summer annual weeds and grasses,
Savvygardeners should apply the pre-emergence materials after the
forsythia blooms but before dogwoods bloom. You'd rather
watch your forsythia than a calendar wouldn't you?
Finally... "I
am fully and intensely aware that plants are conscious of
love
and respond to it as they do to nothing else." ~
Celia Thaxter, 1835-1894, Author |