April Landscaping and Gardening Tips

April 21, 2011

April showers may indeed bring May flowers, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait a month before you can get back into your garden. Early spring landscape management is a rewarding and necessary part of any gardening or landscaping plan in the Pacific Northwest. The following are five tips for tending your yard and garden during April.

1. Grade Your Garden
It’s important to know what shape your garden is in before starting work on it. In your lawn, check for thatch, weeds, and crab grass. In your garden, look for spotty leaves – these may be a sign of disease, slugs, or snails. Also remind yourself of the location of perennials and ground covers, as you’ll want to do any additional planting around them.

2. Make a Schedule
Of all the necessary spring home services may not be high on your list. Even if you have good intentions, sometimes landscape maintenance can just slip your mind. Making a schedule and sticking to it will guarantee that the needed work gets done.

3. Think Long-Term
When planting, don’t go for only summer blooming species. Mix and match your early bloomers like gladiolas and callas at the same time you’re planting cool-bloomers like bush beans, onions, and potatoes.

4. Plant Incrementally
You will probably be tempted to get everything in the ground at once, but this is a mistake. Planting early- and summer-bloomers every two weeks or so will ensure a regular schedule of blooms. The same goes for vegetable gardens; incrementally planting rows of greens and beans gives you a steady supply of the vegetable all summer long.

5. Get Creative
When Spokane residents often stick to what they know. This can be a limiting attitude to take. Talk to a professional landscape company and ask them about uncommon species of plants. You may just find a beautiful new species you had no idea existed.