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SPRING'S ARRIVAL

Here in the Northern Hemisphere spring arrives on March 20th. On this day (vernal equinox), the Earth's tilt is exactly sideways to the Sun, so day and night are of equal length at all points on the Earth's surface.

For the gardener and or nature lover, March is truly the dawn of the year. Try to get outdoors and enjoy some of the beautiful spring weather, and keep your eyes open for some of the first blossoms of spring.

Early wild flowers you might see blooming include Liverwort, Skunk Cabbage, Yellow Trout Lily, Trailing Arbutus, and Wake Robins. Some early bloomers around your home include Crocus, Snowdrops, Aconites, Helleborus, Daffodils and Dwarf Iris

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HARE TODAY...GONE TOMORROW

By now most of your spring blooming bulbs are eager to bloom. The foliage tips keep pushing up taller and taller almost daily. But beware...peering out from behind the cover of your shrubbery and plants are rabbits, who are watching your growing foliage with twitching noses and ears.

When the coast is clear, they hop on over for a quick snack, munching on the new bulb foliage. Crocuses and tulips are among their favorites. If the foliage is ate off several times it can stunt the bulb, thereby halting the bloom, or it can ruin the bulbs best display.

Luckily for the home gardener, there are now repellents available at most garden centers that can be sprayed on the bulb foliage. The spray will keep the animals from munching, but it will not harm the animals or the foliage.

All it does is just coats the leaves with a distasteful residue. Another method is to catch the rabbits in a Havaheart trap and release them somewhere else.

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PRUNING

Your shrubs that bloom in the late summer on the wood that will be produced this summer like Hydrangea, Buddleia(butterfly bush), and Rose of Sharons can be pruned now.

Early spring is also the best time to cut off many of the Ornamental Grasses you may have, cut them down to about 6-12 inches from the ground.

This is also a good time to prune any grapevines, Cherries, Plums, or Peach trees you have. For rose bushes it is best to wait until the buds break, before they are pruned.

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WATCH YOUR STEP

If you are out walking around checking out your beds, you should see lots of bulbs pushing through the ground, tulips, lilies, daffodils, hyacinths, and many others.

But be careful where you step, because everything may not have pushed up through the soil yet. Some of the later bulbs and perennials are stirring just below the soils surface, and a heavy footstep could be ruinous.

If you have wide beds, instead of walking in them to remove leaves and debris, try using a bamboo rake. Metal rakes should be avoided because they can break off young perennial shoots.

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FEEDING TREES

As the frost moves out of the ground and your trees begin their spring growth, it is a good idea to give them some fertilizer. You should use one of the formulas packaged specifically for trees and shrubs.

At about one-third of the distance from the trunk to the outer perimeter of the branches, deep holes, about 18 inches apart, should be dug encircling the tree.

A crowbar or an auger can be used to make the holes. Using the recommended rates printed on the bag, pour the fertilizer into the holes.

For any young trees you may have, this is a pretty easy task. Larger and mature trees are a bit more difficult and it is recommended that you have a professional service fertilize them for you. Since they have the manpower and equipment to do the job.