April 2016

Dear Gardening Friends,   Not much has changed since the last Tips, although things are looking up with warmer weather in the forecast.   Upcoming Garden Events:   Erie County Master Gardeners Annual Spring Bloom classes: The first class was a huge success and there is one more chance for you to attend on April 16th.   The 3 topics are: Landscape Design, Plant Propagation, and Nuisance Wildlife Solutions. 8:30 (registration) 9:00 – 2:15 classes– bring your own lunch. I’ll be teaching the session on Critter Control. It’s an excellent day, hope to see you there. Cost $20. CCE East Aurora, 21 Grove Street, East Aurora, NY To register contact CCE Master Gardener Program, (716) 652-5400, x177, or http://erie.cce.cornell.edu   Lessons from Nature Classes: Early Spring Gardening; Sat. April 23rd, 11:00 in our gardens (170 Pine St., E. Aurora). The class is limited to 6 so everyone can participate and will cover, spring gardening, transplanting, dividing, soil preparation, weed suppression and garden maintenance. The cost is $20 and you get a free perennial of your choice.   To register contact me at 652-2432 or [email protected].   Dr. Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home will be speaking at the UB Center for the Arts on Tuesday May 10th at 7:00. This excellent presentation is being sponsored by the WNY Land Conservancy. For information: (716) 687-1225 or www.wnylc.org. I have heard him speak a number of times, He is not to be missed. His book is interesting, informative and will change your attitude on gardening!   Lessons from Nature Perennial and Native Plant Sale – Sat., May 21, 9-2   Our plant sale is a great opportunity to get healthy, large perennial divisions and a wide variety of native plants at modest prices. Ellen Fultz from Amanda’s Garden (amandasgarden.com) will also be here selling natives which she propagates. You can check out her website for a list of what she carries. She will accept pre-orders.   The sale is at my home in East Aurora. I’ll send a list of available perennials as the sale gets closer.   Garden Tips:   PATIENCE continues to be the most important factor for this spring. You can do more harm than good by trying to do too much too soon. Many perennials aren’t visible yet and you can easily trample a plant crown by stepping into the garden beds before everything is up as well as put a shovel right through that hosta you forgot about! There are some places I haven’t dared enter, even to pick up sticks. If I can’t reach it with a rake it stays until I can see where everything is. Once it gets consistently above 50°, you can safely remove any winter mulch you have used. Have some leaves, pine boughs or covers ready for any late season heavy frosts. The way this spring has been going, there’s bound to be some freezes. Don’t plant when the soil is too wet. Wet, clumpy soil won’t cover the roots well and air pockets can form near roots which will allow them to dry out. Remember PATIENCE! Once your soil is warm enough (50°) and dry enough (crumbles in your hand when you make it into a ball) you can divide and move perennials from your garden. It’s way too soon to plant perennials from Garden Centers, unless they have been hardened off (allowed to acclimate to the cool temperatures outside the greenhouse).   Pruning:   It’s still an ideal time to prune trees and shrubs that don’t bloom in early spring. Shrubs that bloom early like lilac and forsythia already have set blossom buds and should not be pruned until right after they finish blooming. The following are a few more that should NOT be pruned now: deutzia, ninebark, beauty bush, some spireas, weigela and hydrangeas that bloom on old wood. Shrubs that bloom in Summer or Fall CAN be pruned now. The ideal time is before the buds start opening. These include; rose of Sharon, bright stemmed dogwoods,privet, and hydrangeas that bloom on new wood. If you are unsure of when to prune check the specific plant on line at an “.edu” web site. Dead wood can be removed at any time along with weak branches, suckers, and branches that are rubbing or in the way. Contact me if you would like a consultation on how and what to prune. We can work through it together.   Spring Clean-up:   Patience is still the key. Once it does warm up we are all going to be so anxious to get in the garden. Cutting back perennial grasses that have been left up is best to do before the new growth starts. This prevents accidentally cutting the new growth. Many grasses have serrated edges so wearing long sleeves is advised. (I speak from experience on this) Remove any damaged foliage from perennials, shrubs and coniferous trees as well as clean up any winter debris. Any areas with road grit and salt residue can be raked or washed down with a hose. The salt build up can harm plants including grass.   Garden Consultation:   Now that the season is starting, if you have any questions, concerns or just advice on what to do in your garden, contact me for a consultation. It’s well worth your time and will save you money in the long run.   Happy Gardening! Lyn Chimera Lessons from Nature 170 Pine St., E. Aurora, NY 14052 716-652-2432 [email protected] Copyright © 2014 Lessons From Nature, All rights reserved. You're receiving this message because you requested to receive Lessons from Nature newsletters. Our mailing address is: Lessons from Nature 37 N Union Rd Williamsville, NY 14221 Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences