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The sun is shining!

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Finally!

The week started off well, with perhaps our hottest day so far this year, but then it quickly went downhill beginning on Tuesday.

It’s been cold, rainy and kind of dreary most of this week. I’m not complaining because the plants in my garden sure did need that rain and as I’ve said in earlier posts this week the garden has been growing and blooming like crazy.

It’s just that the cold and drizzle haven’t done a thing for my spirits!

Finally, today it’s sunny out. It’s still on the cool side though. It was supposed to reach 18 Celsius which is about 64 F, but as far as I can tell the highest it’s gotten has been to 15 C. Oh well, that’s still warmer than much of the rest of the week.

The weekend looks like it’s going to be really nice. I’m hoping to get outside and finish up the “spring cleaning” of my garden. I still have bulbs to plant too! Remember last fall I bought a bunch of bulbs but didn’t feel well enough to plant them? Well, most of them survived the winter in our cool basement but I’ve got to get them in the ground!

Since I haven’t planted any seeds yet I’ll probably do a bit of that this weekend too. We might even go to a nursery and buy some veggies that have already been started – tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers just to catch up!

We’ll also buy some new cedar mulch to put on the garden beds to hold in moisture.






April Gardening Tips

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April is here and it’s the ideal time for planting summer vegetables and flowers. Here’s a few April gardening tips for you. Keep in mind that those of you living in cooler zones might delay some of these tasks until May.

Begin planting summer annuals, bulbs and vegetables such as cucumber, melon and zucchini seeds. Transplant the potted tomatoes and peppers that you started earlier in the year towards the end of April or in early May. Gladiolus and Lilies can be planted now too.

If your plants have been frost damaged don’t cut them back just yet. They may look dead but given time the stems and branches may still prove to be alive. Wait until the end of the month watching for new growth or for the stems to green and perhaps you won’t have to prune very much.

Prune spring blooming plants once they have finished flowering. Plants that fall into this category include acacia, forsythia, philadelphus, lilac and viburnum.

April is the perfect month to reseed the lawn. The temperatures are still on the cool side and there’s usually plenty of rain. Apply grass seed over the lawn or in bare patches and then cover with a thin layer of top soil. Water twice a day if it’s not raining regularly. New growth should begin within about two weeks.

April is also the perfect month to apply mulch to your garden beds. Turn old mulch into the soil and apply a new layer that is about three inches thick. Mulch will help to keep the weeds down and will reduce water usage in the hot summer months.

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