It’s clear that New England can be difficult to grow vegetables in. New England’s weather and soil can be hard on the gardener and gardener, whether it’s for flowers, vegetables, pleasure, or produce. What’s the best way to reduce risk and toil, maximize growth, blooms, or gardening pleasure?
Plan your work, and then work according to your plan.
An organized offense is better than a poorly planned one. Start by planning your garden carefully to maximize any positive factors like location shelter, sunlight, soil and water – these are all things that can give you and your plants an advantage and a head start.
Get a New England gardening schedule. These useful documents provide information on gardening such as when and what to plant. The UMass Extension Program Garden Calendar is a great resource. It offers helpful tips and tricks on how to get started and achieve success.
Let’s get started.
You don’t have to be a New Englander if you want to start gardening this year. Now is a good time for you to inspect your garden’s structural elements, including raised beds and permanent or semipermanent decorative container, that will hold plants this year. It’s not worth the effort of planting and preparing those structures only to find that they are brittle or damaged by winter.
Clean up your beds and remove any weak or dead plants in order to make way for stronger, newer plants. You should get rid of any dead or dying plants that may be a breeding ground for pests and diseases. To promote healthy plants and encourage new growth, cut back perennials.
Consider using native plants when planning your garden. This will help to ensure that they continue to thrive and minimize maintenance. You should find plants that are able to grow naturally in your area. Your local garden center will be able help you choose the best native plants for your particular environment. As a reference, see the UMASS North American Plants For New England Gardeners. Some spring wildflowers in New England prefer cool soil conditions. They often succumb to heat stress as they age. Mulch can be applied over the root zones to keep it cool and moist. This will prolong the life of the foliage, sometimes even through the whole summer.
You may consider raising vegetables and fruits if you are like many gardeners dealing with the pandemic. It’s a good time now to start seedlings indoors, so that you can plant them when the weather permits. Lettuce and other leafy plants are great for early-season plantings. Refer to our article ” Beginners’ Guide to a Massachusetts Vegetable Garden.”
These 10 tips will help you get started if you are a more decorative gardener who is attracted to beautiful flowers and attractive gardens.
Top 10 Beautiful Spring Gardening Ideas
- Highlight a part of your property. If you have a large lawn and it is difficult to maintain, you might consider making it a landscape centerpiece. This will allow for the use of low-growing plants and groundcover plants up front. Next, shrubs and small decorative trees will draw the eye upwards with a variety in foliage and heights.
- Create a focal point. Place your plants around one dominant object, such as a bird bath or sundial, and let the plants radiate outward from that focal point. This is a simple but effective visual trick that can be done with little effort.
- Make a special corner in your garden – Maybe there is an area of your garden that doesn’t seem to be doing well. It might be too sunny, too dry, or just too much. Instead of fighting it, make it a hidden contemplation space. Install pavers, flagstones, pea stones, or any other hard surface that can accommodate seating. To beautify the area, you can add a colorful, decorative planter to allow plants to grow there.
- Personalize your garden with fun focal points. You can express yourself with an artsy piece, such as a whimsical animal made of metal, a modern or classical statuary or a large, colorful potter.
- Repurpose old items – Old windows frames and doors make great planters or gateways for your garden. A good old tool, implement or other antique equipment can be a great way to add decorative flair and provide support for tall plants.
- Add some color. Mix and match your plants to create a vibrant palette of leaves and blooms. You can ensure bright, beautiful colors all year long by choosing perennial and annual plants that have different flowering times.
- You can create a path – Nothing says “take some time to smell the flowers” like , a path that weaves through your landscape. You can make it rustic with stone and wood chips, or you can go for a more structural and dramatic look with pavers or other manmade materials.
- Make a welcoming entrance to your garden.
- Simplicity speaks volumes – If you’re someone who likes simple, creative touches that take little or no effort but provide a big bang, consider something as simple as adding a large, complementary-colored vase or other object to a plant bed that highlights its dominant color or colors. This attracts attention and is easy to do.
- Create garden zones with landscape screens. Using one or more of the many landscape screens, you can “wall off” certain areas of your garden to create “living spaces” – which are zones of complementary plants such as flowering shrubs or different grasses.
In spring, there is plenty to do in New England’s garden. Even though we may have more rainy, windy or cold days than others, they can be useful in planning and imagining your garden for when it is sunny and warm. Happy gardening!
We hope that you found this article useful and inspiring. You can read our article ” 13 Insider Tips to Create a Beautiful Contemplation Garden.
