Marching Toward Spring

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I have noticed a lot of activity lately this Spring. The red-winged-blackbirds, grackles, and robins have returned. People have told me that the bluebirds have been holding vigil at suet cakes by the birdfeeders in their back yards. The goldfinches are really beginning to blush golden as their summer plumage awakens. The morning birds are getting carried away with song, and the sun has marched a huge distance across the sky since December…it’s preparing to meet the equinox head on in just a few days.

Last year, we were pruning by now! The forsythia bloomed early and the roses had begun to bud out. This year finds us a bit behind that. We thought we’d have another winter without snow, but it finally arrived in the beginning of February and now it seems to like it here! It looks like we may have some more this weekend. It’s okay, though, because Spring is coming and there is plenty to do to get ready.

Planning for Spring

Always remember that our gardening goes by nature’s plan, not by the calendar!! We really don’t want to start pruning too early as pruning stimulates new growth. If we should have another freeze, then that new growth would be lost to the cold and that would set us back. Make a plan to get ready to return to the garden, and when the time is right, you will be ready.

Make sure your pruners and garden tools are clean and sharpened for spring. Check your hoses to make sure there are no leaks and repair any leaks you find. Make sure your watering wand still works…I usually wind up buying a couple more every year. Take a run over to your favorite local garden center and check out what they have brought in for new roses this year. Most garden centers order some old favorite varieties, but they will also have new cultivars that you may not be able to resist. Write down the names of the ones you’re interested in and google them to find out all you can before it’s time for planting.

Spring Stretching

Start a stretching program. If you are anything like me, once I’m loose out in the garden, it’s a tussle to get me to go back inside, and by then I am exhausted and my muscles are sore!! Loosen up your joints and muscles by doing some exercise before you get out of bed in the morning. Try some individual knee-chest pulls and hold the position for as long as you can. Do several reps with each leg. Then, pull both knees to your chest and hold. Do several reps of these, too. Do some leg-lifts on each side, and when you finish with that, roll over on your tummy and prop yourself up on your elbows for a few minutes while you look out the window, daydreaming about roses. If you do these every day…maybe 15 minutes…you’ll feel better in the long run!

American Rose Society

Also, check out the American Rose Society online. It’s a great organization and will help you grow great roses for Spring! Finally, join your local rose society. There, you will find folks who love roses as much as you do. Before I joined the CT Rose Society almost 20 years ago, I thought I was the only rose nut!! Now, I don’t know what I would do without all my wonderful rose friends. Here we go…the anticipation of the garden year begins!

Meet Marci Martin

Marci Martin has loved roses for as long as she can remember. From the time she was a little girl, she was fascinated with how…

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