Embrace the Change with Your September Spring Gardening Essentials

Here in the Far North, we’ve had our fair share of rain over the past couple of months; anyone with low-lying gardens or heavy soils is faced with waterlogged gardens and grounds. But as the days get longer, the air’s a little warmer, and our gardens are finally waking up.

Daylight saving starts this weekend, and as we are presented with a wonderful extra hour of daylight on top of the seasonal lengthening of the days, Spring is truly here 

It's the perfect time to step outside  in the evenings for half an hour  or a little more and get some of the small fun and not so fun  jobs out of the way. 

Keep on top of weeding. We all know weeds love spring, sometimes I swear they grow faster than the plants. Even if you hate weeding, remember the “just ten minutes” rule. Ten minutes goes pretty fast, and it's better than doing nothing. After that, try another ten minutes. If you're listening to the radio, that's about three and a half songs. Then spend ten minutes admiring your work and enjoying your outdoor space. 

Enrich your garden soil by digging compost into your garden beds before planting. If you don't make your own compost, a bag of compost will do.

Deadhead Azaleas, Rhododendrons, and Vireya. This is a very simple job but one which is often overlooked. To extend the rhododendron and azalea season and to ensure that the plant does not waste its energy in seed production, remove as many dead and dying flowers as you can.

If you have a little more time on your hands, it's also a good time to tidy up or thin out bulbs that have finished flowering. 

Although you should resist any urge to cut back or tie up the foliage of any bulbs that have finished flowering as this will decrease the quality of flowers you will get next year, you can still  lift the bulbs leaves and all and pot them up , the pots can then be put to one side in a sunny position to allow the bulbs to to die back naturally sending nutrients back into the bulbs without leaving an unsightly mass of dying foliage in a prime position for the next few months.

When the foliage has died back the bulbs can be stored in their pots and then replanted in autumn.

Next blog - hardening off  seedlings and plants and why it really should be done.