Where the Green Grass Grows

Now is the time to take tried and true methods and some fresh new ideas to kick off your landscaping in time for Spring.

By Kerri Penno

As the last remnants of this winter’s record-breaking snowfall melt away, it’s time to stow away the snow shovels and rock salt, and turn your attention to rejuvenating your landscaping. Now is the ideal time to get started, planning, researching and setting a schedule for bringing your yard back to life, according to Tom Hebel, president, Bucks Country Gardens, based in Doylestown, PA. “Spring will be here before you know it and it will be gone just as quickly,” he noted. “It’s never too early to get started.”

In fact, your spring preparations should ideally have begun before winter has even set in, according to John Gable, president, Northampton Nursery, Warminster, PA, by cleaning out your planting beds. When the winter weather starts to give way to spring, it’s time to get back out there and remove debris (e.g., trash, branches and dead leaves) from your beds and to trim damaged limbs off your decorative trees.

In late March and early April, local garden centers are busy stocking early season flowers, trees and shrubs. And, Hebel assures, the best plants will sell first, so the earlier you have your property ready to plant, and the sooner you can make your selections, the better the products you will find.

Most plants, trees and shrubs thrive when planted during the sprint, but to really enhance your landscape and give it the color it needs as soon as possible, try to focus on planting early flowering shrubs, such as forsythia, or flowering trees, like pear or cherry, Gable recommended.

Many garden centers also debut their newest plants in spring. This year, the staff at Bucks Country Gardens is particularly excited about a couple new offerings, the “Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea,” a pink Annabelle variety, and a “Boomerang Lilac,” a repeat blooming variety.

General garden maintenance is best performed in mid April and by early May, Hebel advises, when annual flowers, vegetables and tropical plants are in great supply. Your plants generally require light pruning and fertilizing during this time period. Pruning and shaping will be more important this year than ever to repair damage caused by heavy snow loads this winter, Hebel pointed out. Plants installed last year should be checked for frost heaving, where the root ball has been pushed out of the ground by the freeze and thaw process.  Conscientious gardeners will also want to correct edging and mulch levels at this time, maintaining 2-3 inches depth, making sure no mulch contacts the stems and trunks of trees and shrubs. Spring fertilization is critical for all plants and can be done now through May.

“Now is the time to undertake the projects that will make your outdoor living space a great place for relaxing and entertaining the rest of the year, and for many years to come,” Gable said. “The pleasure of relaxing with a cup of coffee or the joy of entertaining family and friends on a new patio is priceless and begins now.”

Formula for Success

Hebel and Gable also have a formula for bringing your lawn back to life. First, Hebel encourages homeowners to start out with a soil sample. Local garden centers can test a soil sample, or provide kits from Penn State which allow you to take a sample and send it off for scientific analysis. The soil analysis can tell you about your yard’s pH balances and what you can do to maximize the effectiveness of your fertilizers. For example, in this geographic area, lime is often required to elevate soil pH, Hebel said.

Early April when the forsythias bloom is a good time to dethatch your lawn, removing dead grass, and to apply crabgrass control and prevention, and fertilizer. Gable recommends applying grass seed before mid-April and fertilizer around mid-May, with a second round of crabgrass control around Mother’s Day. Keep your lawn healthy by mowing it as soon as it is needed, generally when the grass reaches about 2-4 inches high.

If you love nothing more than to come home after a stressful day or to set aside your weekend to get your hands in the dirt and find gardening therapeutic, then getting your yard in shape for summer will be a relaxing, rewarding task, enhanced by your local nursery or garden professionals, who can recommend the right plants, structures and accents to make your property shine.

However, if the timeline above has you glancing nervously at the calendar and crossing your fingers for a freak blizzard that will hide the unkempt state of your lawn, relax. Companies like Northampton Nursery and Bucks Country Gardens offer not only plants and trees, but a full range of services to make your yard the talk of the neighborhood. These experts provide everything, from landscape design, to installation, to maintenance. Full service companies offer a host of landscaping services, including design, planting, lighting, spring and fall cleanup, water features, privacy screening, irrigation systems and drainage solutions; hardscaping services, including patios, walkways, pavers, retaining walls, masonry, porches, outdoor kitchens and fire pits, driveways and pillars; and structural additions, from porticos to gazebos, pergolas , decks and fencing. These talented professionals can truly do it all, and then sign you up for a maintenance program, or choose low-maintenance plants and shrubs that will minimize the time you have to spend to maintain your new yard.

Top 5 Fresh Ideas for Spring

Here are five fresh ideas from the experts to really make your yard stand out.

1. Grow Your Own. Edible gardens are all the rage right now. And why shouldn’t they be? With the current focus on eating well and the current state of the economy, any family could benefit from the cost savings and health benefits of growing their own produce, right in their own backyards. Homegrown vegetables, berries and fruits are all extremely popular right now, Hebel reported. “It’s a great way for novices to engage in gardening and experience the satisfaction of growing,” he said. Fruit trees and berries especially are only available in Spring. As for the most requested fruit tree? The fig tree seems to be the most popular at the moment, according to Hebel.

2. Bring on the Butterflies! Another top trend calls for highly visible, beautiful blooms which produce lots of nectar, and subsequently attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your gardens. Any garden can attract butterflies and hummingbirds when summer blooming annuals, perennials and flowering shrubs are incorporated, Hebel noted. Some plants particularly adept at attracting these tiny creatures are azaleas, butterfly bush, honeysuckle, morning glory, columbine, foxglove and petunias. Imagine sitting out on your deck or patio this summer with an ice cold drink and watching these beautiful winged creatures flitting amongst your gorgeous blooms. You need to get started this spring to be successful this summer, Hebel instructed.

3. Add Some Structure. One way to add a personalized touch to your outdoor space is to add some type of structure, whether it be an arbor or a pergola to add some shade and aesthetic beauty, a trellis or decorative fencing to add some dimension, or even a water feature, like a small pond complete with fish and water lilies, a pondless waterfall to add a beautiful view and sound to your yard or even a bird bath. Popular garden structures, even a bird feeder, lamppost, bench or piece of garden art can all dress up and accentuate any landscape or patio and extend your living space outside. Adding a container planting of annuals, tropicals, perennials and ornamental grasses is a trendy way to complement any patio or deck, or even feature in gardens around the home, Hebel added.

4. Save the Earth. Another global trend is considering the environment in any home improvements or renovations. While traditionally, this might bring energy saving appliances, new, heat-saving windows and doors and an easy recycling system to mind; “going green” can and fittingly should be applied outdoors as well.  Being environmentally friendly while landscaping can mean anything from recycling grass clippings, leaves and branches collected from your yard into mulch, or a more involved composting plan, using yard debris from outside the home and food remains from inside the home to create your own compost, which can fertilize your gardens and reduce your carbon footprint, Gable noted.

5. Plant people. Your landscaping is not just about creating a beautiful yard, or even improving your property value, or your curb appeal. The true goal of any landscaping project, plan or maintenance is to create a livable space for people, not just plants. “Gardens are to live in,” Hebel stressed. “Benches, hammocks, swings, Adirondack chairs and even dining groups allow you to enjoy being in the garden after the hard work is through.” Consider adding on a deck, or purchasing a patio set, even adding an outdoor kitchen that can allow your family to spend more time together outside and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and the bounty of all your efforts.

Kerri Penno (kpenno@gmail.com) is a freelance writer based in Conshohocken.