April Newsletter
Blossom by blossom,
the spring begins
“When April came with sunshine
And showers and lilac bloom,
My heart with sudden gladness
Was like a fragrant room.”
With all the snow we received in March, it may have felt like Spring would never arrive. Luckily, it’s returned as it always does and we are headed back into action. April is known to be named after the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, which makes sense to any of us garden lovers, waiting with hearts in our eyes to witness the first blooms of the season emerge. With balance between our days and nights, it’s exciting to get out of winter hibernation and back into the gardens, getting our hands dirty once again.
Early blooming plants are starting to bud and the air smells like thawing soil. As snow melts, percolating into the ground, we can finally see what the winter snow has been hiding all these months. All this extra water is a great start for perennials and we’re personally grateful for it when there’s no telling what summer rains will bring. At first sight of the garden, it can seem overwhelming with a healthy dash of excitement. But worry not! Your Garden Life crew will be on it starting the first week of April if the weather allows.
This is a fluctuating time of year between the weather and the amount of tasks we preform, but we have a solid list ready to check off once we begin our work.
Here are our objectives for the coming weeks:
Remove remaining plant debris
Edge garden beds
Fertilize with selective organic soil amendments
Aerate garden beds
This may not seem like a lot, but trust us: these tasks make all the difference for healthy, happy plants and garden beds.
Snow falling from the roof and plow damage can be tough on some plants over winter, cracking branches in shrubs and pulling perennials out of the ground. We do our best with these, but if you notice extensive damage yearly, these spaces could be an opportunity to rethink plant variety. If the snow from your roof or regular plowing constantly pummels a specific plant, it may be time to re-home that plant and go for something else entirely. Some shrubs may need structural protection (ie. A-frames or burlap) which we are happy to suggest and provide.
Please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any special requests, our crew leaders our more than happy to assist. We aim to keep our crews on a regular schedule, weather permitting, so we’ll see you in the gardens soon.
Happy Spring!
The Garden Life Team
