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Mary, Mary, How Does Your Garden Grow? |
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by Mary Crowell .
March is such a fabulous time to sit in the garden, after all those February rains, I cannot remember a winter and early spring like we have had this year. Complaining about the rain makes me remember how much we really need the water, as our climate is changing.
It is in spring when the garden is at its peak, the time when one can get absorbed in the sights and smells of the greenery and flowers to come. It is also the time to reflect and watch the birds and butterflies as you weed and look at the lush new growth.
 March 12-16 will be the fantastic SF Flower and Garden Show at the Cow
Palace. Anyone interested in any aspect of gardening shouldn’t miss this
spectacular event. The theme this year is Live Beautifully, Live Outdoors. It
is 5 acres of extraordinary gardens, free presentations and seminars on three
different stages, with vendors galore.
My state garden club, California Garden Clubs Inc. will be represented in the lobby this year. Look for my designs , one a mobile. Check out the schedule at http://www.gardenshow.com.
March in your garden is a time of activity. It is not hard to resist getting out on those sunny and balmy days. Paperwork goes by the wayside in our house
even though tax time is approaching fast.
Hopefully you have already applied acid fertilizer for those citrus trees, camellias and azaleas along with an all-purpose one for the rest of the garden. If you planted the fall bulbs, you should be getting an array of color right about now. My daffodils and grape hyacinths were up in February!
Now you may safely prune those plants that badly needed a haircut last month. Keep those trees healthy by raking the leaves and pulling any grass beneath them as the grass takes away the nutrients from the trees. Some hardy perennials to consider might be campanulas, penstemon, phlox, mimulus, hellebores, delphiniums, salvias, and geraniums, especially the scented ones. I love to plant the summer bulbs in March to get the blooms of glads, watsonias, agapanthus, anemones, cannas, begonias, ranunculus and dahlias (tubers). When you read gardening books such as Sunset Western Gardening Book, find your appropriate zone.
Put out snail bait such as Sluggo as we seem to be overrun with them right about now or you can make the midnight run with the flashlight or put out beer in small lids to drown those lushes! To get rid of aphids on roses, dig in systemic rose care products around the base every six weeks and get rid of the ants!!
Container plants seem to be my personal favorites, and it is fun to find odd artifacts that can be made into interesting dish gardens, by creating drainage. There are some metal baskets and kitchen strainers that have natural drainage
and make lovely containers for hanging baskets. Containers can provide colorful impact for the garden, a small balcony or patio and are portable. Staging containers around your garden is a way to spotlight them to best advantage and are an easy way to have an instant vegetable garden using a trellis to grow beans or peas. Using containers on your front porch is a great welcoming feature.
Perennials have long-lasting appeal even when they are no longer in bloom as many have interesting structure and seed heads. Try some of the following that provide structure: Phlomis, Veronicastum, Thalictrum, Eryngium, Filipendula,
Salvia, Limonium. Plants that provide interesting seed heads: Aster, Monarda, Sanguisorba, Rudbeckia, Solidago, Persicaria, Sedum telephium, Echinacea, Helenium, Kirengeshoma.
You may ask me questions at
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