57 In Gardening

Set Up Your Spring Garden for Success

Set Up Your Spring Garden for Success | angiethefreckledrose.com

Spring is the season of hope and growth. You begin dreaming of the beautiful blooms that are to come. You start to see those first signs of green after a long winter. During the first few weeks of spring, there are measures you can take to encourage a successful gardening season. March is the month of preparation and planning. 

This week, we are expecting at least 18 inches of snow to fall in Massachusetts. It's hard to have patience when the ground is completely covered and you can't see all of your pretty spring bulbs. I'm focusing on the fact that this will all change very shortly. In the meantime, there are seeds to be planted, tools to be cleaned and visions to be mapped out. This is a great time to shop, beat the rush and start gathering your supplies. It's never fun to be looking for what you need when everything is picked over.

Set Up Your Spring Garden for Success | angiethefreckledrose.com

Start Seeds Indoors: If you are planning to grow tomatoes, peppers or eggplants from seed, this is the time to get them planted! Place your seeds under a grow light and watch them begin to sprout. When It comes to flowers, I like to start snapdragons, impatiens and salvia. If you are looking to start your herb garden, sage and parsley are my favorites seeds to start in March. 

Other Flowers You Can Sow: aster, calendula, cleome, coleus, coreopsis, geranium, pansy, petunia, sweet william, viola

Other Vegetables You Can Sow: broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, leeks, head lettuce, melon, onions, spinach, winter squash

Other Herbs You Can Sow: basil, lemon balm, oregano, rosemary, thyme

Set Up Your Spring Garden for Success | angiethefreckledrose.com

Clean Gardening Tools: Gather up all of your favorite gardening tools and give them a good cleaning! It is also important to sharpen pruning tools before you start to put them back to use. Trust me, this will make your everyday gardening tasks so much easier!

Prune Shrubs & Trees: Now is the time to prune your fruit trees. It's best to do this on a dry day. Make sure to cut away any suckers, dead branches or diseased parts you can spot. Check on shrubs and do the same. Any damaged areas should be taken care of now. It is also important to get out there and prune any dead or diseased canes you see on your rose bushes. It's helpful to remember any everbearing fruit bushes should not be pruned now, but it is okay to prune raspberry bushes. 

Set Up Your Spring Garden for Success | angiethefreckledrose.com

Clean Up Around Spring Bulbs: Once the snow finally clears, it's time to remove any debris covering your bulbs. Cut back last year's perennials and ornamental grasses. Sometimes critters will move my bulbs around and loosen them a bit. I always take my hand shovel and lightly replant them in the ground if this is the case.

Set Up Your Spring Garden for Success | angiethefreckledrose.com

Plan Out Spring Containers: Spring containers are like a breath of fresh air after the dismal winter season. I like to sit down and plan out what I am going to plant. Hanging planter and window boxes are so much fun to design and put together! I love how they provide a pop of color and bring life back to your yard. Now is a good time to go to the store and look for some containers that are on sale before the rush. I also keep an eye out for shepherds hooks being sold for a good price. I try to get everything in place and thriving before Easter!

Perfect For Spring Containers: pansies, violas, kale, lobelia, bacopa 

Set Up Your Spring Garden for Success | angiethefreckledrose.com

Amend & Prepare: Before your final frost date hits, it's the perfect time to plan out what you envision for future harvests. If you are going to plant different crops, make a list of the varieties you are looking to purchase. Map out where you want to plant them. If you plant the same crops year to year, this is the perfect time to rotate your crops. Some garden pests do overwinter in soil, and if you don't want any of the same problems, it's always best to change it up a bit. Once the soil thaws, you can start to amend your soil. Add nutrients like aged manure, worm castings or even bat guano. This step taken now will ensure healthy and happy crops all season!

Begin Planting Outdoors: Depending in your location and weather conditions, the end of March can be the perfect time to get planting! In my area, my final frost date is late April. If you live in an area like this, cold frames and covered garden beds are necessary. Crops that can be planted in a cold frame include beets, collard greens, carrots, kale, parsnips, Swiss chard and turnips. Again, it's always better to wait, so I always hold off until I'm sure these crops can thrive. 

 Set Up Your Spring Garden for Success | angiethefreckledrose.com

What are you most excited about this spring? Are you starting a new garden project this year, or maybe even attending a fun home & garden show? Tell me all about it in the comment section below. Don't forget to check back on March 28 for a new edition of Tuesdays In The Garden. We will be talking all about spring crops! See you then!

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Tuesdays In The Garden

Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, we will be sharing a themed Tuesday In The Garden post! We will be covering seasonal crops, herb gardening, growing flowers, DIY projects, garden gifts, harvesting tips, preserving, garden to table recipes and so much more. You can check out each of our posts to help you get inspired and give you some creative new ideas. Take a look at these great posts below!


Spring is the season of hope and growth. You begin dreaming of the beautiful blooms that are to come. You start to see those first signs of green after a long winter. During the first few weeks of spring, there are measures you can take to encourage a successful gardening season. March is the month of preparation and planning.

 

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57 Comments

  • Reply
    Jesh StG
    March 14, 2017 at 10:55 pm

    Hello Angie, it looks like you changed blog themes. Will miss you at Thurs. Doors! But I do love this new big and bold blog look! Wishing you lots of success with your gardening! I love blooms too – to paint them:)

  • Reply
    Adaleta
    March 14, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    What a cool series! The weather has been so crazy this year I can’t imagine how hard it has been on planting

  • Reply
    rusty duck
    March 14, 2017 at 7:17 pm

    I gosh, I hope the snow wasn’t too bad.. it even made the BBC news. Keep warm!

  • Reply
    Ana De- Jesus
    March 14, 2017 at 7:04 pm

    I’m so glad that it is brocolli and cabbage season as I am dying to get my hands on more seasonal veg. I like pansies too x

  • Reply
    Elizabeth
    March 14, 2017 at 6:13 pm

    What lovely photos! I’m jealous of your garden prowess, but the truth is, I’m probably a lot lazier when it comes to gardening than you are!

  • Reply
    Ashley
    March 14, 2017 at 5:11 pm

    As a Landscape Architect I can attest that this is a GREAT LIST!! Here in the South we had about 2 weeks of mid 70s and I got the Spring Fever to plant and grow things… but alas, the cold weather came back and killed the newly planted grass… But thankfully I had put all my seedlings into a kiddy swimming pool and brought them all inside before the freeze came back! Stay warm up north during this crazy weather!

  • Reply
    Katie Kinsley
    March 14, 2017 at 4:43 pm

    There’s already been so much snow in the north these past couple of days! I’ve had a wonderful 60 some degrees for me. Just chilly in the morning.

  • Reply
    Gina
    March 14, 2017 at 4:41 pm

    As we get pounded with snow in New England, your photos are a great reminder of the beauty that is soon to greet us. Mush appreciated. Your photos of the croci are stunning

  • Reply
    Liz
    March 14, 2017 at 4:39 pm

    Great post! As usual your photos are gorgeous! 🙂 I hope you and your garden are staying warm through this winter storm! Here in NC my garden thought spring had started already so I’ve already got flowers blooming. They were in for a nasty shock with the snow we got this weekend. I decided to try starting seeds for the first time this spring. I don’t have any fancy setup except some egg cartons and a big bright bay window, but I’ve got some greens germinating already, so that’s exciting 🙂

  • Reply
    Reuven
    March 14, 2017 at 3:52 pm

    This is such a beautiful and wonderfully thorough post, Angie. You’ve shared terrific information and your images are beautiful and inspiring, too. I know my wife can’t wait to start our container gardening.

    Thanks so much for sharing this with our readers at the #TurnItUpTuesday linky party. Please join us every week and tag me when you do so that I can share your posts with our followers; you’ve got great content! 🌿🙂

  • Reply
    Robin McMahon
    March 14, 2017 at 3:49 pm

    Wonderful advice! I really do need to do an inventory of planters, equipment, and so much more! I can’t wait for spring to get here! Thanks for everything! I’ll definitely be back to keep up to date!

  • Reply
    Jami
    March 14, 2017 at 3:37 pm

    Your photos are so lovely, Angie! Is your garden under snow from the east coast blizzard? Crazy, but I guess it’s still technically late winter, right? 😉

    Looking forward to another season ‘gardening’ with you!

  • Reply
    Diane Williams
    March 14, 2017 at 1:34 pm

    You inspire me with your gorgeous photos. I just want to look at them and forget the cold muddy gray rainy muck outside my window. We have been working outside a little even in the rain. Dave is mulching, pruning and dormant oil spraying as he can in between rain showers. He even planted a few things last week end. Spring will get here. Thanks for the inspiration and tips. Thinking about March as planning month makes it much more positive for me.

  • Reply
    Shelly
    March 14, 2017 at 11:18 am

    I’m glad spring is finally here. We had a rough winter with lots of snow and ice. But I’m looking forward to planting soon. It’s still a little wet to plant in our garden but I finally got it covered so it should dry out soon.

  • Reply
    Patti
    March 14, 2017 at 8:38 am

    Hi Angie,

    Hope you are faring well during the noreaster today. Here in SW PA we haven’t seend the snow yet so it looks like we are being spared. I’m hoping for some nicer weather soon so I can get out and start my spring clean up. Maybe I’ll go seed shopping instead. Looking forward to working with you and the group sharing gardening fun this season.

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