Gardening, Flowers and House Plant Care

Spring is finally here!

There are 56 days and 9 hours left until Summer! What should you be doing in your garden right now? Check our April gardening guide here.

Spring Gardening - April

Wow! Is Spring is really here?

The weather in the spring could be a bit bizarre and very unpredictable. Stay aware of your local weather forecasts, trends and warnings. The USDA hardiness zone maps are based on past years average temperatures, and can't predict a freak frost or snowstorm, or a prolonged spring drought.

If a frost or freezing weather is in your forecast, protect your tender plants with a mulch, newspapers, light cloth or some type of overnight protection or a frost cap made with a roll of poly film tented over the plants.

Be sure to remove the plastic tent as soon as the danger of frost is over
or your plants will bake in the sun.

If your weather is sunny and dry, don't neglect your watering! Most flowers and shrubs need about an inch of water each week to perform well, and especially newly planted seedlings will perish if their roots are allowed to dry out.

Bugs and Slugs in the Garden

In some areas, warm winter weather could produce an exceptionally good crop of mosquitoes in many gardens. Aside from the usual precaution of eliminating sources of standing water or using chemical methods, there are many types of garden plants that repel mosquitoes.

Here in the Pacific Northwet, the worst garden pests right now are the slugs and snails...
and they are busily propagating themselves! A single lawn prawn can successfully remove an entire row of seedlings from your garden in hours. He can turn a perfect plant into swiss cheese over night and return to the safety of his hideaway, leaving you to wonder what the heck happened...
Here is more information than you ever wanted to know about dealing with the slugs and snails that are eating your garden.

Its Still Winter in the Garden

It is important to heed the warning when your local forecaster announces a chance of frost, and take precautions to protect the plants in your garden from frost damage.

In the event of snow, be sure to shake or brush off the white stuff from the branches of your evergreens and shrubs. The light fluffy snow poses no real threat, but if it should become wet and frozen, the weight dramatically increases. Branches are more brittle when the plants are dormant, and the weight of the snow may snap them off.

Feed the Birds!

Please! Feed the birds and other small critters that may not be able to find food due to snow on the ground or other causes. For only a few dollars you can feed an enormous number of birds. You'll want them to stick around to help you in insect control when the weather warms again.

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Gardening for Beginners

If you are a new or less experienced gardener who wants to start a new garden for the first time, I suggest that you begin here...

• Gardening 101: Garden Basics: Zone maps, charts, guides and more.
• Gardening 101: Deciding what kind of garden you'd like to grow.
• Gardening 101: Preparing the planting site to grow your new garden.
• Gardening 101: How to plant container grown plants into the garden
• Gardening 101: How to sow and grow new plants from seed.
• Gardening 101: Planting and Growing a Vegetable Garden.
• How to grow, maintain and care for your House Plants