Well, we received another dump of snow last weekend, so my hopes of seeing the lawn were as dreary as the dirt-laden snowbanks. And now we have ourselves a snowfall warning for tonight; it appears the spring clean-up is going to have to wait just a tad longer…..and with more time to peruse the seed catalogs my garden seed shopping list will get longer at the same time!
Finally, It’s March!
Yes, it’s finally March. Still somewhat soggy in our zone 5 area, and almost two feet of snow still hanging around, but spring is on the way. I’m hoping to see the lawn again in a few days.
For those of us that have been going through the garden catalogs and have redesigned our gardens at least a thousand times, there are some things we can do now to get ready so that when that first spring-like day arrives we’re not spending all our time getting ready.
Clean and sharpen all your garden tools.
As the snow melts, start cleaning up all the winter debris.
Pick up fallen branches and leaves from last year, cut dead wood from any shrubs or woody plants, cut back the ornamental grasses to 3″ and clean out any debris from garden bed areas.
And of course…..it’s time to start those indoor seeds!
Pruning Flowering Shrubs
Further to the question on pruning lilacs, there are other shrubs that should be pruned early in the season and those that can wait.
General rule of thumb – Shrubs that bloom in summer or fall are blooming on the current year’s growth. Prune in late fall once the blooms are done, or early spring before they begin to sprout new growth.
Shrubs that bloom in spring are doing so on the previous year’s growth and should be pruned immediately after their blooms begin to die off to ensure good blooms the following spring.
Why didn’t my lilacs bloom last year?
A common question.
And the quick answer – because they were pruned too late in the season last year.
The new buds that produce those glorious spring displays start to form shortly after bloom time is complete in the spring. So if you start pruning mid-summer or fall, next spring’s bounty will be cut away.
Clip off the spent flower bundles as soon as they are finished early spring and do any additional pruning the plant requires at that time. Cut back any dead, unhealthy wood and remove any suckers or sprouts at ground level.
Then sit back and wait for next spring’s show of colour!
Great Backyard Bird Count
February 18th – 21st was the annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC).
The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent. And the birds were out in full force just waiting to be counted. Here’s what came to visit in our yard from 9 – 11 am on Sunday February 20th.
Black capped chickadee – 6
Northern cardinal – 4 (two male, two female)
Downy woodpecker – 2 (one male, one female)
American goldfinch – 3
House Sparrow – 18
Dark-eye (slate) Junco – 11
Red breasted nuthatch – 1
It will be interesting to see which of these little creatures are brave enough to visit us again tomorrow and face the winter storm that Environment Canada has issued so many warnings about. Mwahaha…….more snow appears to be just over the horizon.
And the count continues…….
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