Priscilla’s Garden To-Do List for Late April/Early May:
- Continue to clean up garden beds by raking, cutting back perennials and ornamental grasses
- Finish dormant pruning by May 1 when leaf-out is expected
- Cut back butterfly bush, smoke tree, caryopteris, beautyberry and other cutback shrubs
- Prepare vegetable garden beds
- Sow seeds of peas, spinach, kale, chard, carrots, beets, lettuce – all appreciate cool temperatures
- Prune roses and hydrangeas when you see canes beginning to bud out
- Fertilize roses after pruning with compost and a slow-release organic fertilizer
- Cut clematis vines back to a 3′ height and topdress with compost and a slow-release organic fertilizer, training to a support
- Prune honeysuckle vines hard to a framework, as they will bloom on new wood
- Divide and transplant fall blooming perennials such as sedum, aster and goldenrod
- Begin to edge and mulch beds, keeping mulch away from the root flare of trees and shrubs
There are some wonderful virtual garden tours, webinars and videos offered online these days. Check the Tower Hill Botanic Garden website <towerhillbg.org> or take in one of the free Wednesday at 12 noon webinars presented by Ecological Landscape Alliance <ecolandscaping.org>. And don’t miss this clip from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum featuring the trailing nasturtiums that usually decorate their courtyard in April: Watch video here.
