From Marc Aubry, GreenScapes Landscape Co., Inc.
- After a long, cold winter, your plants are ready to start growing again. To help them jump-start for beautiful blooms, begin with the soil. Roto-tilling in soil amendments such as peat moss, fine pine bark or compost will help to loosen the soil and add much-needed nutrients. Apply the correct fertilizer for your plants. It is very important to mulch with a double- or triple-processed mulch, keeping a maximum depth of 3”.
- Any great garden starts with a great design. Always take the time to first understand your garden area. Begin with the sun and wind exposure, also the type of soil conditions present. Once the growing conditions are identified, you can pick the best plant for the area. Remember that each plant grows in different ways, and how they look today may not be how they look in a few years.
From Dennis Karem, Environmental Management Inc.
- If you really want to make a color statement, use one color en masse as an effective way to highlight a bed or bring attention to an area. Tried-and-true flowers such as wax begonia for sunny areas and impatiens for partial sun/shady areas are ideal plants for mass color statements.
- Yearly roto-tilling of your planting beds incorporating organic admixture – peat moss, manure, ground-up leaves from the fall – will aid in root development. Twice monthly soluble fertilization applications such as Miracle-Gro will promote faster plant growth.