1. Removing weeds & cleaning up flower beds/borders
People may read this first tip and think, “Well, duh!” but often times we forget how much the cold winter weather has torn up our beautiful garden from the previous summer season. We purchase our flowers, bulbs or seeds and get so excited before realizing how much work there is left to do before being able to start planting. It is helpful to do a thorough cleanup of your flower beds and pond, while giving a treatment to your lawn if need be. Remove leaves and weeds and other debris from your garden. Trim or cut dead flower growth that has no doubt occurred due to the frigid winter we just incurred.
2. Choosing your flowers and seeds
Now that the hard and rather messy job is over, it’s time to pick the beauties you plan to showcase in your garden this summer. Research the kinds of flower bulbs that can be planted early spring for a colorful summer display. A few of these flowers include Gladiolas and Dahlias, and begin to bloom in the summer, while fall planted bulbs include tulips and daffodils and are planted in fall, blooming in Spring.
3. Sowing Seeds that Need a Longer Season
Because some plants require longer growing seasons, a smart thing to do is to start sowing seeds in January and February. Plants such as Geraniums, Begonias, Antirrhinums, Peppers, and Aubergines will need extra time to sow to completely fulfill their blooming potential. Planting earlier inside may even deliver you with fresh vegetables and beautiful plants even earlier than expected!
4. Remove those Pesky Garden Pests!!
This step will dramatically ease stress and reduce work when actually time to start planting. When taking a closer look at your plants, you may find slugs or snails seeped into the soil in an effort to stay warm. Remove or destroy any pests you do find, and perhaps even treat your garden plants to avoid as many pests next spring.
5. Collect Rain Water
Install a Rain Barrel to collect seasonal rainfall. For those who don’t know, a Rain Barrel is a rain water collector that a lot of people keep in their front yards or gardens out back. Not only is this effort extremely helpful for the environment, but using this rain water specifically to water your plants will actually help and improve plant growth. At Algreen we specialize in Rain Barrels, and have tons of different colours and styles to choose from. They are decorative and sleek and are known to look fabulous beside any home or building. Check out our Rain Barrel promotions on Amazon.com!
6. Create a Composting Area & Purchase a Composter
If you don’t already have a composter or compost readily available to use, this is definitely a great tip to help your seeds flourish into beautiful flowers. Not only will you have somewhere to place your food and garden waste (without that stinky green bin smell!), but your plants will undoubtedly benefit from the rich compost created when all your waste breaks down. To ensure that your compost is breaking down, you will need to purchase a garden fork to mix your compost and keep it aerated. You can do this at least once a month to ensure breakdown, or you can purchase one of our composters that have built in aeration features. To completely avoid getting dirty, take a look at our tumbling composters that are easy enough for a toddler to use!
People may read this first tip and think, “Well, duh!” but often times we forget how much the cold winter weather has torn up our beautiful garden from the previous summer season. We purchase our flowers, bulbs or seeds and get so excited before realizing how much work there is left to do before being able to start planting. It is helpful to do a thorough cleanup of your flower beds and pond, while giving a treatment to your lawn if need be. Remove leaves and weeds and other debris from your garden. Trim or cut dead flower growth that has no doubt occurred due to the frigid winter we just incurred.
2. Choosing your flowers and seeds
Now that the hard and rather messy job is over, it’s time to pick the beauties you plan to showcase in your garden this summer. Research the kinds of flower bulbs that can be planted early spring for a colorful summer display. A few of these flowers include Gladiolas and Dahlias, and begin to bloom in the summer, while fall planted bulbs include tulips and daffodils and are planted in fall, blooming in Spring.
3. Sowing Seeds that Need a Longer Season
Because some plants require longer growing seasons, a smart thing to do is to start sowing seeds in January and February. Plants such as Geraniums, Begonias, Antirrhinums, Peppers, and Aubergines will need extra time to sow to completely fulfill their blooming potential. Planting earlier inside may even deliver you with fresh vegetables and beautiful plants even earlier than expected!
4. Remove those Pesky Garden Pests!!
This step will dramatically ease stress and reduce work when actually time to start planting. When taking a closer look at your plants, you may find slugs or snails seeped into the soil in an effort to stay warm. Remove or destroy any pests you do find, and perhaps even treat your garden plants to avoid as many pests next spring.
5. Collect Rain Water
Install a Rain Barrel to collect seasonal rainfall. For those who don’t know, a Rain Barrel is a rain water collector that a lot of people keep in their front yards or gardens out back. Not only is this effort extremely helpful for the environment, but using this rain water specifically to water your plants will actually help and improve plant growth. At Algreen we specialize in Rain Barrels, and have tons of different colours and styles to choose from. They are decorative and sleek and are known to look fabulous beside any home or building. Check out our Rain Barrel promotions on Amazon.com!
6. Create a Composting Area & Purchase a Composter
If you don’t already have a composter or compost readily available to use, this is definitely a great tip to help your seeds flourish into beautiful flowers. Not only will you have somewhere to place your food and garden waste (without that stinky green bin smell!), but your plants will undoubtedly benefit from the rich compost created when all your waste breaks down. To ensure that your compost is breaking down, you will need to purchase a garden fork to mix your compost and keep it aerated. You can do this at least once a month to ensure breakdown, or you can purchase one of our composters that have built in aeration features. To completely avoid getting dirty, take a look at our tumbling composters that are easy enough for a toddler to use!
These are just some basic tips we use to get ready for spring & summer! Happy Gardening from the Algreen Team! :)