Southern Homes & Gardens Blog

The long awaited spring planting season is upon us, which means spring cleaning indoors and out.  When the weather and temps cooperate, be sure to make time to clean up flower beds and surrounding areas, in preparation for the all-important Spring growing season! 

So, what can we be doing?

Removing cold-damaged foliage/stems from our perennials to prepare room for new growth.  In general, leaving an inch or two of the stems above the ground surface should be fine.  Although we might want a ‘cleaner’ appearance by removing this old growth after the first killing frost in the fall, we need to remember that even this ‘dead’ foliage will offer the plants some protection against extreme low temperatures.  And with our recent history of dramatic winter temps, that could have made the difference between survival and cold-kill.

Remove old, possibly disease-harboring, mulch, leaves, etc from the beds – you’ll  need to be aware of the foliage of Spring Blooming Bulbs (Daffodils, Jonquils, Hyacinths, etc.), that are already in bloom with some of the earlier bloomers too.   And, as bulbs and perennials make themselves more evident, you’ll want to apply new layers of mulch or pine straw (have you checked out attractive, long-lasting Textraw synthetic pine straw?).  The mulch will help keep down weeds, conserve moisture around your plants and protect them from extreme summer temperatures.

 Out with the old & in with the new!

Take a nature walk around your landscape – making notes about what you’d like to add in order to have good color and interest  year ‘round.  Make notes about each area that include

• how much sun (and at what time of day) it gets
• mature height of plants/shrubs/trees you want to add (reducing the need to trim)
• how easy/accessible is it to water that particular area 

Then visit our nursery to research what’s available to meet your requirements – with lots of new fresh varieties arriving daily, selecting your favorites will be the hardest part! 

Still stumped on what to tackle first or how to do it?  Snap some photos of your existing landscape and bring them in to show our knowledgeable staff – they’re happy to offer their expertise and guidance!

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