Spring time is finally here!
Winter has felt like it would never end, although I'll be honest, I appreciated the break from flower farming work and thoroughly enjoyed skiing with the family and cozy evenings by the fire. But life is stirring outside, the birds are busy building nests and it's time to turn our attention to the dirt.
Some things to be working on now in zone 6:
-Prune your roses! (David Austin website has a great tutorial video)
-Trim away the dead from bushes and vines, taking care not to damage new flower buds.
-Leave the leaves! Leaves are wonderful food and mulch for your garden, as well as places to hide on these cold spring nights for your lady bugs and other beneficial insects. Some leaves you will want to remove are from plants such as roses, hellebores and peonies as they can harbor disease spores and pass them to the new growth this year.
-Watch for praying mantis egg sacks and take care not to remove them. I found 12 so far!
-Clean out, tidy up and organize your growing space, greenhouse or sunroom.
-Clean out birdhouses from last year or hang new ones, and fill the bird bath
-Purchase a pretty garden journal and start taking notes of what's sprouting and any new plantings you create or dream up
-Direct seed cool weather seeds like Bachelor buttons, Peas, Cress, Silene, Yarrow, Nigella, Poppies or Larkspur.
-Start your spring seeds indoors. I'll post on our Instagram and Facebook pages as I sow things.
-Get a soil test if you haven't got one yet and begin amendments
-Check your sprinklers and turn faucets off. Our irrigation turns on Monday and I'm always afraid I'll leave something on and have a small flood.
In all the bustle of spring, be sure to take time to pick a handful of budding branches or narcissus to bring inside.
When you take a flower in your hand
and really look at it, it’s your world for
the moment. I want to give that world
to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to or not.
–Georgia O’Keefe
I hope you are finding moments to take it all in and enjoy the spring!
Stay tuned for exciting news! We're adding some sweet little Olive Egger chicks soon! Annie and I have started a fun new project, and will have chicks for sale locally. Details to be posted soon.
Blessings
Becca
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