Getting a Garden Ready for Spring

It's that time of year again -- getting the garden ready for spring. First thing you do is go to your garden and stand around.

  • Topic: Spring Gardening
  • Author: Cindy Bellinger
  • Keywords: spring, chores, maintenance, gardens
  • Date: March 2005

© All articles are copyrighted by High Country Gardens. Republication is prohibited without Permission.

It’s that time of year again—getting the garden ready for spring. First thing you do is go to your garden and stand around. This is the easy part. You look at all that needs to be done then go back inside and try again the next day.

Next day. You realize you can’t see the ground for all the debris. So gather up all the dead leaves and spent flowers. Whew. After a few minutes, that requires a break—of at least another day.

Next day. Alright, you’re geared up. Now you collect all the broken garden ornaments you forgot to bring in last fall. (So far this year I’ve collected two ceramic mushrooms that fell against the stone wall and smashed. Then I found some wind chimes on a stick that fell over and got ruined.)

I also picked up rocks from the gravel drive that got tossed into the garden while shoveling snow.

Now that the garden is looking somewhat neat and tidy, it’s time to kneel down on the ground. And this is the best part. It means digging in the dirt.

Turning soil in the spring has to be the best part of any year. The rich fertile smells, the glorious feel of dirty hands—you can’t beat it.

After these beginning stages, now’s the time to begin.

  • digging compost into soil enlivens all the little microbes that are begging to thrive again. Every garden needs a burst of new energy now.
  • fertilizing this time of year gives plants a real thrill. Yum Yum Mix is always good, but some plants might like a squirt or two of something with more nitrogen. (Some of my groundcovers needs lots of Miracle Grow this time of year. I’ve tried more natural things, but for whatever reason, they like the chemicals). It’s nitrogen that jumpstarts leaves and flower buds.
  • mulching can only make your garden happy. A blanket of about two inches everywhere will keep down evaporation and keep weeds at bay.

Once these chores are done (and you’re well acquainted with your back and leg and arm muscles again) then you can stand around once more—at least for another day.

Next comes planting. And that is coming up soon.