Top Ten Things To Do While Waiting For Spring

WRITTEN BY CAROLYN ALTMAN

FINAL PRUNING.

Sneak in your last bit of structural pruning before the sap starts to flow. To minimize trauma to trees and shrubs, prune while dormant. Remember that the plant will need enough leaves to feed itself during the growing season, so limit pruning to no more than ⅓ at a time. If you want flowers, avoid pruning off branches with buds.

CUT BACK GRASSES AND PERENNIALS.

You can leave brown leaves for winter interest and wildlife habitat, but cut them back as soon as you see green shoots coming up so that you won’t end up with straggly dead fronds mixed into new growth.

SHARPEN YOUR TOOLS.

If you don’t know how to do this, take them to someone who does. It’s worth the money. You should have already oiled what needs to be oiled to prevent rust over the winter, but if your chain saw chain needs attention, take care of it now.

CONSIDER ELECTRIC TOOLS.

Think about replacing gas tools with electric, which are far better for the environment and are on the whole far easier to use. For most gardeners, it is far more pleasant to work cord free with lighter tools. It is also wonderful to not have to siphon, funnel, or inhale gas.

PREPARE YOUR POTS.

Scrub your pots so they are ready when you are all excited from your trip to the plant sale and come home ready to plant. Soak them in 1 part bleach to 9 parts water for half an hour to sterilize them. You don’t want to start out the season with the horticultural handicap of last year’s problems.

GARDEN ROAD TRIPS.

Get out of the house and visit some gardens. There is always something interesting at a garden, and you can learn a lot about grouping and growing habits by visiting the pros. We are lucky to have the many diverse plants of the Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern University to visit for ideas, and there are others throughout the state. Make a day trip and be inspired. Google for possibilities and check online for hours. If you are a member at the Sustainer Level of the Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern, you will receive free or reduced admission at over 300 gardens around the country, including the Atlanta Botanic Garden.

SPRING PLANT SALES.

Join a garden and get first crack at the spring plant sales, in addition to other benefits. Most gardens have unique plants not available from big box retailers, and your sales help support the gardens. The extremely popular plant sale at the Botanic Garden at Georgia Southern University is March 31st for members only, April 1st and 2nd for everyone else. Visit georgiasouthern.edu/garden a few weeks before the sale to scope out the available plants and extensive information about them that will aid in your planning.

JOIN A GARDEN CLUB.

Garden clubs are a wonderful Georgia tradition, and a great way to learn about gardening while making plant-loving friends. Call 912-8715666, leave a message, and Susan will call you back with information about garden clubs in Bulloch County.

SPEND TIME IN YOUR GARDEN.

Take a lawn chair and a lap blanket out and just sit. Notice where the birds hang out, and where the sun lingers. Move your chair to a part of the yard you never visit and see what calls your attention there. Try not to get up to work, but just pay attention and feel out what your garden needs. Then, if you must, get up and just remove a few of those weeds before they take S

COMPOST.

Figure out how you are going to compost, if you don’t already. We are lucky that things decay quickly in our region. You can find an out of the way place and just pile on your yard waste and too-far-gone produce from your fridge, as long as there are no fats. Basically, if it came from a plant, it’s no different than the leaves and acorns in your yard and it can be composted. Turn the pile now and then, and enjoy the occasional surprises. I once had a bumper crop of acorn squash that grew from an unredeemable squash I’d composted. Even if you don’t put the good compost that results to work in your garden, you are returning nutrients to the earth and not adding to our environmental woes. If you’d like, there are plenty of composting bins and systems available.