What's your "To Do" List for the garden in March?

Our wintry wet weather has finally broken for the moment and I went for a walk around the yard.

I found lots of mud and sticks and a few little sprouts peeking out from the muck.

And lots of pruning and clean up needs to be done! So I found a good "To Do" list for the March garden from the Chicago Botanic Garden (I think this would be for Zone 5 gardens).

http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/checklist/march

I was wondering specifically when to take the protective mulch off the perennial bed--we may still have a freeze and they may need protection from that, but it's looking like a soggy mess out there and maybe if I took the mulch off the plants would be happier. Any thoughts?

What's on your 'To Do' List for this month?? (Only a few more days to get it done!)

I was outside yesterday noting the same kinds of things, and looking under mulch to see whats happening. I'm not going to worry too much about a lot of cleanup just yet. There's some tender growth under there and I don't trust spring, lol. I've left some lily stems standing in place to remind me where they are, and they're really bugging me, but the lilies aren't up yet (thank goodness, don't want to seem them froze to mush again this year). I'm noticing growth buds swelling on the roses, so its time to prune those. I left some hardy glad stems in place too because I want to dig them before they start growing. They were scarlet and were supposed to be pinks- you can imagine the clash in plantings of pastels and pinks and white, lol.

Scarlet instead of pink would not work for me, either, but I think it doesn't bother some folks. I think pinks need to be carefully analyzed and complemented to pull off using it in the garden...of course, I have pinks in my butterfly garden all over the place and the butterflies love it! Oh, well...

I suppose I should add the April list from the Chicago Botanic Gardens since we are probably a few weeks ahead of them here in zone 6.

http://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/checklist/april

Now I have even more to do this weekend!

I'm putting out my bluebird nest boxes and I suppose I should get my hummingbird feeders ready too. The earliest HBs arrive here in Ohio about April 10 or so. At least that's when I saw our first ones a couple of years ago.

Today I'm spray painting my new wrought iron trellises a rusty brown. These will be for all the Japanese Morning Glories and other vines I've got under lights in the basement. (My newest obsession!)

And I suppose I should go through my over-wintering pots in the garage and see what made it and what didn't.

Then I'm going to set out my alyssum and pansies (bought yesterday at Walmart and some tulips and hyacinth I bought at Lowes in peat pots). I've succumbed to buying the bulbling starts since the animals ravaged my bulb collections in the past few years looking for winter food.

Big weekend of gardening ahead if the 'wintry mix' predicted for Saturday doesn't materialize! We can only hope!

I think I'm going to get my kids on the long end of the rakes and shovels put them to work tomorrow. I can see my compost pile looks delicious!

Mmmmm....let's see...what else needs to be done?!

Oh yes, right on with the pinks..and I'm kinda OCD about that anyway! That particular area is planted in blue-pinks, rather than salmony or peachy pinks.

I'm glad to hear you're getting into vines! Are you growing any hyacinth bean? I've really enjoyed it in the past, and hummers would visit the blooms from time to time too.

Last year I was surprised to see a hummer visiting daffodils! I'd never seen them that early in the year before either, so it was a double shock. I guess there were no red flowers blooming yet.

T,

i was doing a bit of clean up yesterday... now i have to wait for the new snow to melt, then the mud to dry... then i'll be back out in the field cleaning up.... so it may be a few more weeks for us.

Tabasco,

Early cleanup is very dangerous for someone who planted new perennials last year. If they cut the stems last year, they may not remember where the perennials are. If they left the stems and there is no new growth, they may yank it up because they think that it is an old annual. If the growth appears low, and near the stem, but doesn't seem attached they may pull up the growth because it looks like a weed.

I think that we have all been there!

Today, I think that I did each one of these. Fortunately, I had a limited amount of time outside. Everything is going to wait at least another month, when I can be sure of what is what.

Thank goodness the new seedlings under my lights are labeled!

Amazing about the hummers at the daffodils. I had heard they visited lilacs and azaleas but the daffs are awfully early for them! I didn't do the hyacinth bean vine this spring. Will have to find room for it somewhere--maybe in my sister's garden which I am planning to fill up with all my seedlings! I haven't told her that she's going to become a gardener yet!

I am going to go ahead and clean up the beds along my front walk where the daffodils and hyacinths are about ready to bloom. I have my kids out there now sweeping and picking up sticks. Then we're going to plant a few flats of pansies and violas around them. I will put the tulips in large pots by the doorway with ivy.

I looked at my perennial bed (also known as my butterfly garden) and it looks pretty beat up but I'm going to take a cue from you penne and just leave it for awhile. I don't want to walk on the wet soil after I spent all the time and effort to make it just perfectly aerated with beautiful tilth (I think so at least!) This year I have resolved not to plant any annuals between and among the perennials to give the perennials a nice wide berth to grow and bloom. I hope the new plan works out.

It's amazing to me how many of our beautiful spruces, hollies, and other evergreens did not make it through the winter. I think this was because of the drought last summer. I think we lost at least 10 mature bushes and two beautiful spruce trees. So too bad.

Tabasco,

Now, I know where all my perenials are! Most of the coneflowers are making an appearances. I'm still waiting for one or two to come up. The liatris are starting to show as well. I was really nervous about the liatris - I was afraid that if I tried to plant anything two early, I might accidently damage them.

It also looks as if all my lillies made it through. I moved my casablancas last fall, and was concerned that they might not be okay, but they look fine.

Hi kids,

I had to laugh at the opening stetement of hti sthread, about a respite form the winter weather LOL! Very cold the next 3 nights!!!

Lilies (genus Lilium) are particularly vulnerable, and it might be worth your effort to cover them somehow. Kicking mulch or dry leaves over them, an overturned box, or 5 gallon bucket....something like that. Be very careful when you REMOVE the items that the flaps on the boxes or the bail on the bucket don't decapitate them!

I am looking at everything trying to determine what I remember from past years' freezes/frosts, and so far, it's just the lilies that are up and vulnerable. Any that are only 4" out of the ground don't (usually ) need ot be covered.

Of course that's ot counting my gigantic pink Magnolia....sigh. I don't have any buckets big enough for it!

Suzy

penne, sounds like you have had a pretty good return on your perennials. I rarely get coneflowers to come back (soil too wet and they rot) and only about half my liatris. I planted 20 liatris bulbs in pots yesterday and put them into the garage (until the sprout). Well what do you know--I went out there today and 2 of them have sprouts!

And thanks for reminding me about the Lilies, Illoquin. I don't have any lilies any more (rabbit/deer fatalities) but I do have my eremurus up about 10 inches and they will need some boxes over them! Thanks for telling me--I forgot and was just going to 'let go, let God tonight' with perennials and the cold air coming.

I don't have much sprouting in the garden--I'm afraid I lost quite a few plants through the winter even though I mulched with pine needles and leaves. I did have a pretty good survival rate of things I potted up and put into the garage--salvias, verbena, clematis, aristolachia, passiflora. I took them out a few days ago and set them on the driveway. Now I'm wondering if I have to bring them in--they said it would be 36 degrees tonight...?

Now is the time to start a few tropicals to get a head start for the garden, so I spent the day working on my new Canna rhizomes--potting up several of them in big pots. Fortunately my son helped me mix the potting soil and fill and move the pots. God bless him! And I found some big 18 inch plastic pots on special at 'Big Lots' this morning for $7 each. Not the sturdiest things, but I think they will do for a while with the Cannas in them.

Someone on the Canna thread said to get a "underbed' storage box and start the cannas in those--placing them just on some mix close together but not touching until its warm enough to transplant into the garden. Seems like that method would save potting mix and space and I could even fit it on my heat mat if I wanted. Someone else is starting their cannas and other early starters in plastic zip loc bags.

Great ideas here on Dave's!!

I'm going out to look at my Eremurus now! Keep warm! t.

Oh, Tab, Hold up! If you are going to be that warm tonight (36) you don't have a thing to worry about. We are at 30 -31, and the dew point is such that we have cause for worry. In Indianapolis.

Suzy

Oh, OK, thanks....

Do you think the Eremurus will do OK?

Yes, You should be fine. I think mine will even be fine...even with the below freezing temps and probable frost. It has to do with how far they are up out of the ground. I don't have a formula, but last year when we got so cold that whole week at Easter, they came through just fine, that's what makes me sound so confident. The lilies, though...I'm just not sure I have it in me to start covering them up, htough I have 4 bell jars that are the perfect size and shape. I guess I'd better look around and see what I can do. Brrrr. It's cold and rainy!

Suzy

Well, good luck with your weather. I looked at the regional radar and it looks like you're in the thick of things this weekend. We have escaped the rain and just have the chill and grey skies. The birds are feeding like crazy though so maybe we will have a storm after all.

I took 2 daffodil bouquets to my neighbors today. So much fun to share them!

I ought to do that, too, but I wanted Dryad to come see them in full bloom. It was once again to windy to take any pictures, although I have this one for a few days ago, before they opened. This is the Australia bed. The Aust flowers have one thing in common: they bloom really early.

Suzy

Very pretty daffodil bed--a wonderful looking collection. And I wonder why the Australians bloom early for rthe most part... I'm wondering if you are entering any shows this spring? Or judging? And is this inclement weather messing up your show specimens...? You are pretty quiet about your daffodil expertise...So many questions...I hope I don't sound rude.... (-:

I just don't have enough sun to create a good space for the show daffs. And the '55 mile per hour' types are taking over the other spaces. I think I am going to have to do a revamping of my April garden and take out some of the daffs that have become big clumps or look out of place (just about all of them)...hate to compost them but I have nowhere else to go with them now.

I ordered a lot of 'Pink charm' daffs from B & B's sale and they substituted 'Accent' and I planted them all over along the front walk. They are blooming now--heads facing downward and too tall--not right at all and I will have to dig them out (200) and find some spot in the back for them...I should have read the label and paid more attention to what I was doing...

I did make some big bouquets and will have more for the neighbors today. I just LUV daffodil bouquets!

Here is one of the beds that needs to be remodeled (piture taken a couple weeks ago and now it is jam packed with daff blooms). I think I have about 8 kinds of daffs jumbled into this bed and they aren't doing a thing for each other...

I suppose this post qualifies as things 'to do' in the March garden...I should go out now while I can see they bloom type and mark the daff clumps with string or something so I know which are which when I want to dig and move them.

Tasbasco,

Do you have heavy clay soil? I was wondering since you said that your coneflowers rot from the wet soil. Do you think that they would do better if you amended the soil more? Perhaps with some bark fines to break up the clay and some additional hummus or compost?

I have an inside corner where the soil is always moister, but I just realized yesterday that this soil has never been amended. It is just slick clay, so the water sits there more. Once I can make it to the store today, I am going to amend that area, and then plant some of the monarda that I have. Monarda likes moist soil anyway. I'm also going to add in some lilies, and daylilies.

Now that I am thinking about it, I'm sure that the amendments will make the difference. I have three rose bushes planted about twenty feet from the corner, and the soil is completely different. It is rich and black, not slick and brown. I've added a bunch of stuff to the area the roses are in. Yesterday, I was making the bed deeper and amended it more. It seems that the roses decided last year that they wanted more room, and they were leaning all over the grass. Unfortunately, my lawn care service is miserable when it comes to anything is is touching the grass. The extra depth should keep them safe. This is a picture from July 2007 with black eye susans that needed a home.

We've been there for three years, but I have never done anything to this corner, and it shows when you look at the slick dirt.

Of course Tabasco, this entire argument is moot if you don't have heavy clay.

penne, I can't say that it's clay soil in the butterfly garden at all. It's mainly a mixture of mushroom compost, chopped leaves, peat, and other stuff the landscaping company told me to put in the mix. If anything, I'm guessing the soil might be too rich for the coneflowers. But it's very wet here through the winter so there is no relief from the rotting syndrome for the most part. Maybe I could/should add some sand to the mix.

Pretty pic of your corner garden. I bet you have some pretty summer bouquets!