The first warm and sunny days herald the awakening of nature to life. After the long and cold winter, the garden has lost its charm and to bring back its former splendor it is time to start preparing for the new season. Before entering the flower beds and lawns, it is necessary to review the condition of the garden equipment.
To serve us well, it must have strong, comfortable handles and sharpened blades (scissors, hoes, shovels, etc.). If possible, it is good to buy the most necessary missing garden tools. It is wise to have an inspection of the irrigation system and correct its malfunctions in time.
The first concerns in the restoration of lawns are related to the cleaning of the dried or rotten stalks, which suffocate the plants and prevent their development. With the help of an aerator or pitchfork, we must work the ground to provide more oxygen to the roots. After aeration, it is good to spread a thick layer of humus or peat, and for clay soils - sand. This way we will improve the soil structure. The period is suitable for sowing the seeds in the thinned and bare areas. When the grass carpet grows about 6-7 cm, we do the first mowing. If the soil is dry, feed with fertilizers for grass mixtures and water abundantly.
From hedges, we must remove dried and tangled branches without pruning, as this stimulates the development of buds, and early spring frosts are especially dangerous for young leaves. The same goes for rose bushes. Pruning is done at a slightly later stage, when the tendency for a permanent increase in temperatures persists, but before normal sap movement has been restored.
Now is the time to free the perennial plants from the winter "clothes" and loose materials with which we have provided them with protection during the frosty days. We remove the dried and rotten branches from the winter moisture. We should not be in a hurry to uproot plants that at first glance seem non-viable. We can wait a few weeks and if they do not break out pimples - remove them at a later stage.
Weeding is one of the most important activities during this period. We must carefully weed the entire garden area, then dig up the beds. Preserving the integrity of the roots of perennial plants when performing this operation is of particular importance. For this reason, we dig up the bushes at a distance of no less than 50-70 cm from the rhizome, and for species with a superficial root system, we only slightly loosen the soil.
One of the most important goals of spring garden preparation is to improve the soil structure. We can fill the area with wood ash. The lime and potassium salts contained in it will improve its quality characteristics. We should not use wood ash mixed with coal ash, as it will contaminate the soil layer with sulfur and heavy metals.
To restore the nutrient resources of the soil, depleted by the plants during the previous growing season, we add rotted manure or red California worm biohumus. We can also use mineral fertilizers, but in this case we must water abundantly immediately after feeding.
After fertilizing, we can cover the areas around the bushes and perennial flowers with a layer of peat, which, albeit temporarily, will protect them from the appearance of new weeds.
It is recommended that we also inspect the tubers that we removed the previous autumn and discard the damaged and destroyed ones.
It's time to buy the seeds for the annual flowers. The market is flooded with a wide assortment. It is good to match the individual requirements of the flowers with the conditions that have been created in our garden. The packages also contain sufficient information about the planting period.
We also need to prepare the containers for the potted plants and seedlings. Pots and boxes used in past years should be washed with warm water, detergent and a brush, then rinsed thoroughly with water. We disinfect them by immersing them in a disinfectant solution. This is how we will protect young plants from viral diseases.
Timely preparation of the garden for the new growing season is a guarantee of a yard space bathed in colors and aromas.
