Plant seeds like poppies, cosmos and delphiniums in the fall. They will sprout and grow in the spring!

(Make sure the varieties you chose are suitable for fall sowing and can grow in your area).

Plant your flowering bulbs in the fall and you’ll thank yourself in the Spring!

Check your local nursery for the best options in your area.

You can continue growing veggies through the fall and winter, or get your garden beds ready now for spring planting. To enrich the soil, add compost or consider growing a cover crop.

Fall is the best time to plant garlic bulbs for a plentiful and delicious harvest in the new year!

Many plants can be divided and moved 4-6 weeks before the first frost.

Read more about dividing hostas here.

Be sure to dig up and store these bulbs properly for the winter so you can re-plant them next year!

Read more about storing tender bulbs here.

Prepare for winter by setting up your weather protection. Now is the time to get your cold frames and polytunnels ready.

Read more about winter protection for shurbs here.

Empty and drain your garden hoses and rain barrels before you store them for the winter. Remember to also shut off, drain and protect outdoor water faucets using an insulated frost cover.

You’ll need to find out what water plants need specific winter care. Whether you have plants or fish, you don’t want your pond to freeze solid.

Recirculating pumps can be set up to run at the bottom of the pond to prevent this from happening.

If your fall season is dry, give young trees and shrubs a deep watering with a tee soaker before the first frost.

This will hydrate them throughout the winter months.

Dispose of the diseased plants from your landscaping. Do not add them to your compost piles as it will further the spread of disease.

Find out the proper way to dispose of them in your area.

Now is the time to clean, oil, sharpen and repair your favourite garden tools.

This is a much more enjoyable chore to be done when the weather is mild, rather then early spring when there’s still snow and harsh winds.

It might not be fun, but organizing your shed will make room for your winter storage and allow you to have everything ready for spring.

Be sure to empty, wash and disinfect garden containers so they are ready to use in the spring.

Now the fun begins! Review your gardening year, noting your successes, your failures and your wishes for next year.

Here’s a throwback to a post we wrote in 2015 on planning for next year!

The post 14 Fall Tips For A Better Spring Garden appeared first on Landscape Edging Blog.

• Do you have roses? Fertilize your established roses. Liquid fertilizers can be added at two week intervals but follow the instructions on the container.
•  Make a plot layout of your flower borders so you will know where to locate the spring flowering bulbs you plant next fall. It will always make spring and summer gardening easier. You will be able to identify the plants in your border and plan for continuous blooming by setting young annuals between bulbs and early flowering perennials after their blooms have faded.
•  April is a great time to clean up plants and flower beds; pick out dead leaves, twigs and prune dead limbs.

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• As the weather gets warmer and the days lengthen, adjust your irrigation timer to water more frequently. Be sure to run your system long enough to wet the top two feet of soil. A deep, infrequent water is much more beneficial than a daily sprinkle.
• Allow your wildflowers to go to seed so they will produce a natural healthy feast for birds as well as reseeding themselves  so they grow again next year.
• Begin fertilizing Bermuda grass lawns during late April or early May. Follow the instructions on the container.
• Control lawn weeds now through late May before they get too large.
• To determine if soil is ready to work, squeeze a handful of soil into a tight ball and then break the ball apart with your fingers. If the ball of soil crumbles easily, the soil is ready to work. If the soil stays balled, it is too wet to work.
• Once new growth begins on trees and shrubs, cut them back to where the green wood begins to remove any twigs that were affected by winter kill.

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• Your lawn mower blade should always be sharp so they do not tear the grass. If you sharpen the blade at home, make sure you balance it too. Place the center hole of the blade on a screwdriver handle held upright in the vise. If it doesn’t balance, sharpen the heavier side until the blade balances on the handle.
•  Invest in a hose-end shut-off valve this spring. These are available separately as part of a watering wand. This allows you to turn off the hose as you move around the yard and shut off the water immediately, rather than letting the hose run while you hurry to turn off the main spigot.

The post April Chores and Tips appeared first on Landscape Edging Blog.

• If you’re still receiving snow, be sure to shovel and brush off the snow from any raised bed covers.
• Onto warmer thoughts… Prep any new garden beds as the weather permits.
• If the soil is workable, add compost and any other soil amendments as needed.
• Make sure to fertilize plants that are starting to grow actively.
• Be sure not to plow your garden while the soil is wet, as it will form clumps that are difficult to break up. This will interfere with the cultivation during the summer months.
• If there are weeds in your bulb beds, be sure remove them by hand so the bulbs and roots will not be disturbed.
• Spring is a great time to renew and add more variety to your landscape… Buy some new perennials for your flower border.

• When buying bare-root trees, look for the ones with the largest root system in relation to top growth. It is not necessary to purchase a larger tree to get a quality plant.
• Dig, divide and replant crowded summer and fall flowering perennials.
• Plant your spring flowering annuals.
• Prune your shrubs and ornamental trees before the growing starts (except for the spring flowering shrubs – prune those as soon as they finish flowering.
• Early spring is the perfect time for these turf treatments – if needed. Special equipment is available for each operation… Consult a lawn-care specialist or rent the equipment and do it yourself!
  • Vertical cutting or thinning to remove thatch and aerification
  • Or coring to reduce soil compaction.
• As the nice spring weather approaches, it is a perfect time for repositioning stepping stones that have heaved or snuck below grass level. Do this by lifting them, spreading sand in the low areas and replacing the rocks. A bed of sand under the stones will allow for better drainage and decrease the sinking for next year.
• If you built and birdhouse in the winter, now is the time to put them out. The birds will begin looking for nesting sites very soon.

• Start more seeds growing inside.
• Keep an eye on your indoor transplants and make sure they’re happy and healthy!
• Repot any houseplants that have grown too large for their containers. Cut back leggy plants to encourage compact growth. To increase your supply of plants, root the cuttings in moist soil.
• Protect yourself and the blade of your pruning saw during storage by making a cover using a piece of old garden hose the same length of the blade. Cut the hose lengthwise on one side and place over the saw blade.
• If you haven’t already, check your stored tools and outdoor furniture for signs of rust. Remove any surface rust with steel wool and pain with rust inhibitive paint.

The post March Chores and To-Dos! appeared first on Landscape Edging Blog.

1. Mulching: There are tons of materials that can be sued to mulch. Mulching is done to prevent weeds from growing but it also insulates roots and help the soil underneath retain water. With the right type of mulch can also nourish plants and can also add some character to your garden design.
2. Plant Annuals: If you want your garden to have beautiful colourful flowers throughout the summer, than annuals are the most reliable way to get just that. By planting them now, they will have a long lasting effect! Planting Hack: If you purchase one colour and stick with that colour for the year you can create a seamless colour story throughout your whole garden.
3. Plant Summer Bulbs and Tubers: Dahlias, gladiolas, and other summer blooming bulbs should be planted as soon as possible. The sooner they are planted, the longer you will have to enjoy them. Remember, at the end of the season, be sure to dig them up for winter storage (unless of course you live in an area where they can stay year round)!
4. Weed now, relax later: The longer you wait before you pull the weeds the harder it will be to get rid of them. Pull the baby weeds while they are easy to remove. Not only will this remove the weeds before they can anchor themselves, but it also disrupts them from going to seed and creating more weeds!

What are some other chores you do in May?

The post April Showers Bring May Flowers appeared first on Landscape Edging Blog.

Roses
Roses are the perfect flower for almost any occasion. The roses that are one hit wonders are the tree climbers and garden roses; these are spring bloomers and blooms once. The perfect time to prune? Right after they finish blooming.
Do you have some that return in the same year or season? Repeat bloomers such as modern shrub roses or hybrid teas are to be pruned to the shape of the plant and to remove the damaged as it comes.

Deciduous Shade Trees
When winter comes, these trees become dormant. During this time, it’s the perfect time to prune. You won’t harm the tree in anyway or spread disease while it is dormant.

Deciduous Fruit Trees
You want to create space in this tree for sun to be absorbed. You want to prune in winter when it is dormant. You want the best quality over the most quantity.

Evergreens (Fir, spruce, cypress, etc)
Ho Ho Ho, the classic Christmas tree. The needle type trees should be pruned in the early growing time. You don’t want to cut any wood that does not contain any of the green needles. If done, it may not grow back for you.
Natural Holiday decorations? This tree is perfect for snipping a few in the winter for your home. It won’t affect the growth of the tree.

Pruning Tips

• Don’t prune any newborn trees or trees that are newly planted. Wait at least a year before clipping away.
• Cut as close to the branching point, this will avoid any stubs on the tree.
• Dip the tool you’re using to prune with rubbing alcohol to eliminate the spread of any disease the plant may have.

The post When to Prune: Part 2 appeared first on Landscape Edging Blog.

Eating prunes helps to digest food and get rid of the “bad” in our bodies; the process of pruning is to get rid of the “bad” off plants. As soon as you notice anything dead, diseased or damaged you’re going to want to get rid of it. When pieces of a plant are broken, insects, pests and, harmful diseases are attracted to said plant.

Spring
Anything that blooms in the early spring should be pruned right after they’re done blooming. Try to avoid pruning in the winter. Pruning in the winter can damaged it for the following spring.

Summer
For the flowers, trees, and shrubs that grow in the summer you will want to prune them in the winter while they are dormant. These plants you can cut to the core in early spring or late winter as well and it will not harm the bloom in summer.

Hydrangeas
You will need to prune any type of Hydrangea early summer. If pruned before then you will be destroying the buds before they can bloom.

Hedges
Here are a few tips for growing hedges

• Refrain from shearing six weeks before frost. Optimal time is in the early growth. Following this will give you the best green foliage your plant can offer.
• For shrubs that are formed into hedges, you will want the top narrower than the bottom. This will keep the top from casting a shadow and hindering growth.
• Growing a privacy hedge? Let them grow and only prune if you need to.

Gardening Tip!
Save time and your back by using a pole pruner where the head rotates.

The post When to Prune appeared first on Landscape Edging Blog.

If your anything like I used to be, you’re probably thinking you can just grab a few packs of seeds from the local store, put them in the ground and hope for the best, but if you want your garden to be successful, and reap rewards in the early months of the year you need to do a little planning (Click to Tweet). Here’s how…

In the fall before it freezes:

1. Remove and discard the dead parts of plants, but don’t stick them into the compost. This will cause weeds to sprout up wherever you use the compost in the future.
2. Put Mulch eight inches deep over any plants that might not handle the cold very well, including over-wintering vegetables such as carrots, so they will be alive still in the spring.
3. Make sure all your garden beds are composted or mulched.
4. Clean up, maintain and store your garden tools and equipment properly. Make note of any tools that might need to be replaced. If any of these tool need repairs, take them in to be fixed.

Start planning:

5. Order seed catalogs. There are multiple good catalogs from different companies so go ahead and order a few! Here’s a hint! If you want to save the seeds from the plants to grow new plants in the future, you will want to buy heirloom varieties.
6. Decide if you want to use cold frames or another technique to lengthen your growing season. If so, be sure to plan and build accordingly.
7. Start by diagramming and planning what you want where. Once you have a general plan with your vegetable garden, herb garden, annuals, perennials, bushes and trees planned out, it’s time to start getting more specific.
8. Be sure to check the viability and test germination of any seeds you have on hand.
9. When you’re planning, start with the plants that take the longest to mature and will be there the longest – the trees! Next add the bushes, then the perennials including any herbs, then the annuals including the vegetables and lastly any potted plants.
10. Ask yourself these questions for the trees, bushes, perennials and annuals:
11. Do you want to plant any new ones?
12. What kinds?
13. How will planting these affect the plants you’ll be putting nearby? If you are planting a tree that gets really wide, you won’t want to plant bushes or anything long-lasting near it, but annual flowers would be great and provide a nice pop of colour!
14. Are there any other plants that cannot coexist with these plants?
15. What plants do really well around these plants?
16. Where do you want them in on your land? You may realize that you might want your vegetable garden near the driveway, but you might want to put some bushes between your garden and your teenage driver.
17. Now the fun part! Start picking out what you want!

Here’s some additional guidance on picking plants:

12. 1 Decide what you are looking for and why. I like the unusual varieties of common plants, but you might appreciate your traditional plants as well.
13. Don’t forget to check which grow zone you live in. Your country, province or state extension service might have more detailed information available, or ask at your local nursery to get the best information.
14. Think about what you’ll actually use and eat. There are really no reason buying eight rosemary plants, if you don’t like using rosemary in your cooking.

Here are some steps to take mid-winter:

15. Look at the weather: is it an unusually cold or snowy winter? Or is it mild? If it’s not overly cold or snow, then you probably don’t need to do anything extra to your plants. But if it is really cold or snowy then you might want to protect your plants better.
16. Take advantage of the increased visibility due to the plants dying or being dormant and take a good look at your garden. Are there any areas of erosion? If so, you can make a project for the spring and begin to research and plan on how to best fix it.
17. Can you see roots damaging any walls, foundations, pathways or anything else? In the spring have a professional take care of any problematic roots. Do you research now to find a good service and ask for referrals from friends and neighbours?
18. Look at where the snow and ice melt first and where does it last? This will give you an idea of what spots naturally receive more sunlight.
19. It is finally time to start planting – even with the ground frozen rock-hard! Start your early season plants indoors. In four to six weeks, you can put them in the ground and start the next group of plants inside. A grow zone map can help you determine what to plant and when, as the weather begins to warm up.

I hope these tips help you get excited for your garden for next summer and you’ll have a great growing season! Enjoy the planning and the planting!

The post 19 Ways to Prepare for Your Garden for the Spring in the Dead of Winter appeared first on Landscape Edging Blog.