The National Gardening Association (NGA) is pleased to present National Garden Month, now celebrating its fourth year and gaining in prominence as thousands of people across the country passionately reach out and commemorate this time to focus on the essential connection between people, plants, and the environment. It’s an opportunity to discover simple ways to bring America’s backyards, schools, and neighborhoods closer to the rhythm of nature. A time of renewal and a reinvigorating return to our roots.

National Garden Month 2006 shares the GROW campaign theme, This is My Garden, reflecting the pride of nurturing the earth and the power of bringing forth life from bare soil. It heralds the achievement of millions of Americans who are working the earth in community, public, school, backyard, container, and rooftop gardens. As these gardens multiply and grow, the quality of our life is directly impacted: America is being transformed into a greener, more livable country, where the act of nurturing plants can influence education, health and nutrition, community, and local food sources. National Garden Month 2006 aims to get America growing, so that millions of people can proudly proclaim, “This is My Garden.”

Saturday, April 15  

FREE CLASS Held at McAdam Nursery & Garden Center 
  11:00 to 11:30 on Spring Cleanup

Saturday, April 22 

ARBOR DAY SPECIAL!   
  Buy a tree and receive a FREE bag of hardwood mulch!  

FREE CLASS Held at McAdam Nursery & Garden Center 
  11:00 to 11:30 on Mulch and Amendments.

FREE CLASS Held at McAdam Nursery & Garden Center. 
  12:00 to 12:30 on Rose Care.

In early spring, most gardeners are chomping at the bit to get out and do something in their gardens and yards. Don’t despair though—there are still lots of yard and garden projects that you can work on. Here is a list of ideas to keep you busy:

Get a soil test.
You can pick up collection bags for your soil samples at your local extension office (see my extension page for the office nearest you). I would recommend doing separate tests for your lawn and gardens, since the laboratory recommendations will differ depending on whether you are growing flowers, vegetables or grass.

Replace your mulch and add amendments.
This is a good time to renew the mulch around all your plants before the new foliage fills out. I know you all have a compost heap in your backyard, so take all that lovely “black gold” and spread it around all your plants—they’ll love you for it.

Make a compost heap or bin.
Okay, maybe there are a still a few of you that don’t compost--why not start this season?

Prune your shrub roses.
 Now that your roses have just started to bud, you can easily tell where there is dead wood that needs to be removed. You’ll also want to thin out those canes rubbing against each other or growing into the center of the shrub.

Cut down your ornamental grasses.
You need to get all the dead foliage removed before the new growth starts to appear.

Build pathways.
You’ve always wanted a walkway to the garden, so why not build one now while the ground is still soft?

Clean up all your pots and containers.
It is way too early to plant annual flowers into your patio or deck containers, but you can always get a head start. First remove all the old potting soil and dump it into your compost bin. Do not reuse the same soil mix because you may carry over diseases that were present in the soil or the plants.
Scrub each container with powdered laundry detergent and water and then disinfect the pot with eight parts water to one part chlorine bleach solution. Rinse well and voilà--your pots are disinfected and ready to plant when the weather permits.

Sharpen your garden tools.
Put the spade in a vise and grasp the file by both ends at a slight angle to the edge of the blade of the spade. You should see an obvious bevel to follow. Make long firm strokes in only one direction. When you’ve sharpened the entire length of the blade, turn the spade over and lightly rub off any burrs that may have been produced from sharpening the other side.

This will be (hopefully) a very basic, non-technical guide to fertilizing (feeding) your plants.
First of all, when we fertilize keep in mind this is supplement feeding. Many nutrients are in our soil already but they are "locked up" or unavailable in a form that plants can utilize due to P.H. (have acid or alkaline-more about that later) or soil texture problems.
Remember- the more pliable your soil is, with lots of organic materials-the less added nutrients are needed. A good soil will feed your plants naturally. Supplemental feeding can make them grow bigger and better! (If there was any confusion last month), working the amendment into the top few inches of the soil is for small plants (they can sink and have crown rot problems). Larger plants would be amended according to their size needs- a good rule of thumb is to till or dig a shovel's depth and work/mix in any amendments very well.

-Organics vs. Chemical fertilizers-
The plant doesn't know the difference between them, but the soil does. Chemical fertilizers feed the plant. Organic fertilizers feed the soil so the soil feeds the plant naturally. Both have advantages: Chemical fertilizers are fast acting and may later take care of specific problems. In any case, remember to feed your plants organically or chemically, and remember to always follow the label directions.
Work the fertilizer into the soil at the drip line of the plant- that's where the feeding roots are. The drip line is where, if you draw an imaginary line from the outermost branches to the ground as rain would fall. Always water in well, fertilizers need to be in liquid form for roots to absorb- water plants first, never feed a dry plant!

-Understanding "N.P.K."-
All fertilizers have 3 numbers on the bag; the first (N) is nitrogen-for the green, second (P) is phosphorous- for fruit & flowers, and third (K) is potassium-for overall vigor of the plant.
For our soils the most important is nitrogen; it needs to be replenished because it moves freely through the soil and can be washed out. Complete or all-purpose type fertilizers are good to use at planting time (phosphorous and potassium need to be worked in) as they don't move well through our alkaline soils. It is especially important to feed plants in containers regularly or they won't have anything to eat!
How often? Follow label directions. Usually it will say monthly during the growing season or with organics every other month because they are slower acting (you will also notice the NPK numbers on those bags are smaller). Follow label directions for specialty fertilizers such as those for azaleas or fruit trees.
An easy fertilizer for beginners and one of my favorites is Gro-Power. It has an acid-humus base and everything likes it. Dr. Earth products are very gentle and relatively safe around pets because they are all organic. Kellogg's fertilizers are easy to use and have fast results and work well for specific nutrient needs. Remember to water in well!

To review:
1. Check fertilizer choice for N.P.K. numbers and choose one with plenty of nitrogen.
2. Follow label directions!
3. Work into soil at the drip line
4. Water in well- Never fertilize a dry plant!

The viburnum shrub is excellent for a shrub border and woodland gardens. The berries attract beneficial wildlife to a garden setting. Viburnum branch and leaf structure can make for a safe place for birds to nest.

Almost all viburnum grow well in any moderately fertile, well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade and adapt very well to a large variety of environmental conditions. Insect resistance of viburnum is remarkable. Viburnum make an excellent choice for the busy gardener because of the low maintenance of these shrubs and trees.

These early bloomers sport the vibrant yellow flowers that have become a fixture of our spring dreams. Their flowers precede their leaves. Border forsythias are fast-growing shrubs with an upright and arching form.

Stop by a see our beautiful forsythias and fragrant viburnum and take some home for yourself!