March slipped away gently like the proverbial lamb and here we are in April, which writer T.S. Eliot branded the “cruelest month,” thanks to its fickle weather. Despite its unpredictability, it’s a time of optimism and day-by-day progress in the garden. As the temperature rises in the soil and the air outdoors, we’re limbering up.
Gardeners are appearing again all through the towns of our SouthCoast, along with the forthright robins and other assorted feathered friends. It is a joyful time, especially if you take it in slowly.
Pleasures are simple. We can close our eyes and smell the earthy aroma. Loll in the sun, baring arms and hatless head… Earthworms are moving about (I saw one today!) and the soil has returned to life. At dusk comes the delightful strains of peepers drowning out all human sound. Crack open the window to hear their concert. Then you know spring is in full swing.
The reality check comes when you take a hard look at your flower borders. No matter how carefully you put it to bed last fall, things have turned out shabby. Beds are clogged with dead leaves, soil has been washed away and erosion has exposed roots. Some shrubs have succumbed to winter kill and there are tattered perennials that look like they’ve been through the mill. Well, they have.
I look out the window to find the landscape still stark and exposed, the trees lining our neighbor’s yard standing bare, their branches stripped of leaves. Our hedge is just a long smudge of tangled, brownish sticks and beneath the framework of rhodies and other shrubs that will flower later in spring, there are tiny splotches of green – bulbs planted in the fall – that are steadily emerging to bring May bloom. While it is an uplifting time of year, spring is also the busiest time in the gardening calendar.
I try to pace myself, so I don’t end up at the chiropractor. It’s a workout for sure and best if done in moderation. For the past few weeks as the snow retreated, I’ve been scurrying about the garden anxious to uncover emerging bulbs – and remove the debris of winter, with lots of raking and trimming and pruning. With each section (or piece of a section) complete I sigh with satisfaction. This is the time of reacquaintance and renewal – a sacred time between garden and gardener.
But I must say emphatically that I look forward to my time in the garden. I have a portable speaker that I carry with me about the garden and while weeding or pruning or whatever I get absorbed in stories. So, in a way, it’s a two fer. When not listening to a book I will have my portable radio (gifted to me from my husband for just this purpose) that I can tune into.
I pause my audio book to run another wheelbarrow load back to the compost pile. Audible and my cat are two constant companions in the garden. I’m not telling you how to garden but I recommend pacing yourself. The weekend warrior routine is folly. You know you’re never going to achieve what you want to – and once you accept that it rests easier on the soul. Coming in and having rosy cheeks and a placid feeling of well-being; nothing can beat it.
My three main tools are a hand rake, pruners and garden shears along with a rubber container and wheelbarrow. Progress is slow but it’s steady and visible. I inspect the ground for dead or rotted plants but resist pulling them out (they may revive later) and move soil away from the base of roses.
If you haven’t pruned the deadwood from roses and shrubs you can do it now. When pruning roses, cut out any dead, diseased, weak or unwanted stems and crossed twigs. Now is a good time to schedule tree work with nurseries that specialize in that.
It is also time to price mulch and order it for delivery. Spring is the optimal time to replenish decorative mulch (wood chips, shredded bark, or cocoa beans) to prevent damage to emerging vegetation and cover the bare spots. It will help reduce weed growth and retain moisture and will gradually mix with the soil improving the texture. Avoid direct contact with stems and trunks that will choke and eventually kill the plant.
Now is an optimal time to get aged manure and seaweed to incorporate into your plots. Also, you will want to run your composted soil and screen it for use. There is no point in cultivating the soil until it’s dry and mixable.
April is also time to:
-Dethatch lawn and overseed with a starter fertilizer.
-Continue planting vegetable seeds indoors.
-Ditto for annual flowers (cleome, morning glory and zinnea).
-Begin laying out and planning new beds.
-Plant cold weather crops.
-Transplant sod on bare spots of lawn.
-Plant dormant trees and shrubs.
-Repot overgrown houseplants.
Spring is not just about cleaning up garden beds or feeding lawns. It’s about the return of life. Savor it!
“Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in switch liquor
Of which vertu engendred is the flour…”
-The Canterbury Tales Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer.
The Seaside Gardener
By Laura McLean