Early Season Garden Chores
We've been quite lucky this week - temperatures have been in the mid to high 60s and plants are emerging from the soil all over the farm.
With warmer weather, it’s an ideal time to get a head start on some outdoor gardening chores. There’s a lot to do for the spring clean-up, and the outdoor grounds crew is busy with many projects, including raking various lawns and beds, trimming old plant growth, and blowing dead grass and leaves. The crew is also adding a little more protection around the growing bulbs to keep them insulated against any early season cold snaps.
It’s a strong start… to a refreshing season ahead. Enjoy these photos.
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- The snow is still melting here at the farm, but with the mild temperatures this week, my gardeners and outdoor grounds crew have been able to start working on the beds. First up, those beds along the carriage road to my Winter House, including these outside my flower cutting garden. My Multi-Purpose Totes are must-haves in the garden and yard. We use them for collecting grass clippings and all the pulled weeds and old roots. These bags are roomy, light and so, so durable.
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- Here comes Phurba on our trusted Kubota model M7060HD12 tractor – a vehicle that gets lots of use at the farm for pulling or pushing agricultural machinery or trailers, for plowing, transporting mulch and compost, and so much more.
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- Fortunately, I am able to make compost and mulch here in my back fields. During the course of the year, my outdoor grounds crew amasses large amounts of organic debris – felled trees, branches, leaves, etc., but none of the material goes to waste. It is either repurposed quickly as milled lumber, or made into mulch and compost.
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- The mulch is carried by wheelbarrow to the beds and then spread out into a thin layer over the bulbs.
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- Phurba uses a hard rake to spread the mulch evenly over the plantings.
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- A one to two-inch layer of fine mulch should be sufficient – too much can suffocate the plants.
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- Here, Domi blows old leaves that were covered by all the snow we had last month.
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- He is using a STIHL backpack battery and blower. This battery eliminates the cost of fuel and engine oil and can be used with this handheld blower. The backpack battery can be plugged in to power the blower, which is less noisy and perfect for around my Winter House and in the beds. The back battery design shifts the weight from the unit to the back or the hip for easier carrying and less fatigue. Plus, the blower can be used both from the right side and the left side depending on the user.
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- Across the carriage road, Pasang tends to the grass, using a soft rake to remove the thatch – the top layer of dead grass shoots, stems, and roots that forms between the green grass blades and the soil surface.
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- Look at some of the thatch removed. De-thatching removes the decaying plant material so air, water, and nutrients can reach the soil more efficiently. It also helps the areas drain more effectively.
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- This is the Stewartia garden outside my Tenant House, where my daughter and grandchildren stay when they visit. It also needs a good cleanup. Do you know why I call it my Stewartia garden?
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- Many of the trees are Stewartias – and my last name is Stewart. Stewartias are lovely woodland trees native to Japan, Korea, and the southeastern United States. Stewartias are slow-growing, all-season performers that show off fresh green leaves in spring, pretty white flowers in May and June, and colorful leaves in autumn. They also display an interesting exfoliating bark.
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- In one corner of the garden, Ryan works on trimming the old growth from these Cotoneaster shrubs. A diverse genus, Cotoneaster can be deciduous or evergreen shrubs or small trees. Some make wonderful ground covers with their handsome dark green foliage and large, lustrous red or orange berries that last from fall through winter. I would love to plant these all around the bed as a border.
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- Here’s Brian working on the epimediums – members of the barberry family, Berberidaceae. Epimedium foliage can be deciduous, semi-evergreen, or truly evergreen, depending on the species or hybrid and the climate in which it is grown.
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- Here is a sampling of the leaves. They vary slightly from heart shaped to lanceolate. They unfurl in shades of bronze, mottled red or spring green.
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- In a nearby patch – more spring emergence. These are the young leaves of the saffron crocus that was planted last autumn.
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- And here is a bed all covered with new mulch. It’s best to cover the beds in winter when flowers are not in bloom and the crew can gingerly walk through without disturbing any growth.
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- Here is another view of the bed just outside my greenhouse. Temperatures are expected to dip again next week. This layer will protect those early spring bulbs and perennials from fluctuating temperatures.
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- A good start to the season ahead. There’s still lots to do in this garden, and soon it will be full of colorful spring blooms.
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- And remember all the burlap? It has held on very well this winter, protecting all my boxwood from the heavy snow and winds. Soon, the burlap will be removed – there’s always a lot to do here at my farm.
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- And once the snow melts completely, we’ll be working in the pergola, mulching and preparing this gorgeous garden. What spring chores are on your list? Share them with me in the section below.
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