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Wrought Iron Decor for Home and Garden
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Toil
and Trouble - Spring Garden Clean-up Time
by Carol Wallace
Instead, I try to break things down into manageable tasks. Instead of saying that I need to clean out all of the beds and trim back all of the shrubs and do a massive spring tidying, I only allow myself to contemplate one garden at a time - and one goal at a time. Lopping Weeding Other weeds will be disposed of relatively easily. Some pull up quite nicely, and most will depart this earth with a few passes of the hoe. Get the weeds now before they have a chance to take hold, then go to seed. At this time of year they don't fight too hard.
Normally, unless a plant is quite large, I tend to plant in groups of three or 5 or more, so one good clue as to whether a particular spot of green is friend or foe is the number of them I see making an appearance. A single plant is probably a weed. Multiples may or may not be. I am wracking my brain now trying to remember if I was experimenting with a new kind of groundcover last year because in one area that is what I seem to have - so much of this stuff that it's either a dastardly foe or a real winner. My usual solution is to wait a bit. There is plenty else to occupy my time, so I hate to waste it dithering.
The absolute
best is cutting back the hellebore foliage, which gets quite tatty looking by
spring. Because when you get rid of the leaves you see tons of buds,
And then the ornamental grasses must be attacked. They did a great job this winter of creating some interest and texture in the winter garden, but by now they are starting to shatter - so there are broken shards of grass all over. Warning - wear gloves if you try to pick these up or to wade in to cut them down. Those blades can be very sharp! If your grasses are isolated enough that they won't pose a hazard to the surrounding structures and vegetation you can burn the old foliage. If not, the best way to tackle this job is to tie a rope or string around the middle of the old foliage and then use a chain saw or whatever cutting implement you have handy to make your cut below that. Then you have
fairly neat bundles to haul to the compost heap. And if you have only one or two specimens that aren't too huge, you may be able to deal with them using ordinary scissors - although to me that seems like you're just asking for a case of carpal tunnel syndrome. Raking That done, you can look at the bed you have been working in and see that it has turned into something more closely resembling a junk heap than a garden. If you are smart you will have brought something like a tarp or old sheet with you. You can rake all the debris in the beds onto that sheet - it's a lot easier than trying to pick it up by the arm full. But don't drag it to the compost heap just yet, because you're not done. Salvaging Once you've raked away the debris you can see what's left in the beds. The skeletons of last year's perennials and annuals may be sticking up from the ground. Cut the perennials back and pull the annuals out. Put them on the sheet with the rest of the debris. Pruning Of course you are also removing any dead twigs and branches you may find. While you're at it, why not get rid of limbs that head toward the center of the shrub, or that cross each other. Open up the entire shrub for better light and air circulation and you'll have a healthier and happier shrub. And now you pick up that rake one more time and rake the beds again. But don't leave yet. There is more to come. More Weeding Divide and
Conquer NOTE: Do not give garden visitors things like kudzu, gooseneck loosestrife (Lysimachia clethroides) and Silver Queen artemisia unless you don't want them to come back. They may thank you now - but not for long. In fact, don't even compost those types of plants. Put them in garbage bad and tie it tightly. Paint skulls and crossbones on it and hide it from curious eyes. Under pain of eternal toil, do not let these plants escape. Burn them if you must but I would be nervous about even the smoke carrying some part of these insidious plants allowing them to reproduce once more. Please notice - I have been going on at great length here about things to do in the garden - and I haven't even gotten to the good part - those boxes of plants that will start appearing on doorsteps all over any day now. My first box arrived today, as a matter of fact. Recovery
But you do have a nice clean bed, weed-free and ready for your latest seedlings and shopping spree spoils. You probably also have calluses, an aching back and a deep feeling of satisfaction. And as soon as you drag that debris-laden tarp over to the compost heap and unloaded it you can go in and soak in a nice hot bath and sigh pleasurably at the prospects of more fun in the garden. Because tomorrow you can go back out and start all over again in a different part of the yard! About the
Author
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It's that time again - the time when
confusion reigns and it doesn't look as if everything will possibly get sorted
out in time for the real garden season. You know that season. It lasts a day or
two and is the time when you sit back and admire things and can't find a single
weed or encroaching branch to cause you to leap out of your chair to tend to
them. And it comes every five years or so.
Of course weeding time presents
me with a bit of a dilemma. I don't know about you, but last year I planted
several new types of plants that I had never grown before. I have no idea what
they look like in their infant stages - in fact in a few cases I don't have a
really clear picture of what the mature foliage looked like. I live in fear that
I will hoe up something I paid good money for last year - but even more afraid
that if I leave that strange plant in the ground it will turn out to be the weed
from Hell. (Those are MUCH harder to pull up than those whose roots
considerately stop in Tasmania.)
Cutting
and Cleaning Out
just waiting to burst into bloom.
Make sure you inspect the debris just in
case you have inadvertently raked up a plant that was uprooted by frost heave.
Tuck these tenderly back into the bed - they may just surprise you. I found a
few bulbs today that had been heaved from the earth - and they had as much new
leafy growth as those still securely tucked in. And last year I was devastated
to find my prize hosta, Aphrodite, lying face down in the dirt, roots waving
frantically in the air. I righted her and tucked her back where she belonged -
and she grew and flowered. Plants are often much tougher than one might expect.
As for those greedy plants,
if you plan to dig up the excess and get rid of it, toss the extras onto that
tarp. Otherwise pot them up temporarily until you see whether you might not have
a use for them elsewhere in the gardens. Or save them as little gifts you can
give to garden visitors. 
All right - don't get too excited.
It looks like more space than you really have. There are still plants lying
completely below the earth, dormant. Last year I underestimated the growth of my
hostas and planted dahlias somewhere in their vicinity. They bloomed - but you
had to lie on your belly and peer under a gigantic hosta leaf to see it for
yourself. 
