preparing garden for spring

Let’s pause with the travel posts (although an information-packed one is coming next week!) and talk about getting the garden ready for next spring.

Southern States in Carrboro, NC my go-to garden center.

#1 Suggestion:

Fall is, of course, THE time to do any planting. Your shrubs and perennials will thank you for getting them into the ground in the fall and NOT in the spring. By planting in the fall the plants have time to establish roots (below ground) before putting all their energy into flowering and growing (above ground.)  It’s tempting, of course, to buy buy buy in the spring when you can actually SEE the pretty flowers on each plant. But horticulturally speaking, it’s best if you buy in the fall when the plants look half dead and dormant. Believe me, they are not!

#2 Suggestion:

Let’s order some tulips!
If you have been reading my blog for a while you know how I love tulips. I order at least 100 bulbs each fall. And…..yes…..I pull out each and every tulip after it has bloomed. I do this for several reasons:

1)You can never know what is going to make it for the next year. No matter what your climate, from Chicago to North Carolina, many bulbs […]