MARCH/APRIL

• Start some seeds indoors in a sunny window. Choose some plants that will either look good, taste delicious or smell nice. Start them according to their package directions in some trays and potting soil. You may be able to transplant them to your garden once they have developed two sets of leaves, or thin them out in the container and grow them right inside, watching them develop into living green plants.
• Although these early warm days may make you itch to get out into the garden, be aware of the moisture content of your soil. If it is still too soggy, try to hold off. Generally, if you can make a fistful and squeeze water out of it, it is still too early. Go back inside and order some seeds!
• Treat for crabgrass with a pre-emergent fertilizer. Ask at any hardware or home center.
• Prune your rose bushes this month if you haven't already. Remove any damaged canes and any mulch which covered the crowns over the winter. Cut back weak looking canes above a living bud for hybrid tea roses.
• Apply fertilizer to fruit bushes, spring flowering bulbs that have not bloomed yet or appear that they will not bloom. It takes a great deal of energy stored in the bulb to flower. Allow the green leaves to remain after blooming to help the bulb store energy for next year.
• Sharpen your mower blades for the season and rake to remove dead grass (thatch) and other debris.

MAY

• May is when everything really starts to grow. Your biggest challenge this month is weeding. Getting vigorous weeds now will mean less weeding later in the season. Try to pull them before they go to seed spreading many more weeds for later in the season.
• Cover planting beds with 2 - 3" of mulch to prevent weeds from germinating.  This will also retain water and nutrients for the plant.
• Mid-May is a great time to plant containers of annuals for placement on patios, steps and decks. Use fresh potting soil mixed with compost if you can.
• Create a  perennial (plants living more that 2 years) bed to reduce the lawn area in your yard.  Perennials offer more diversity, habitat and ease of yard maintenance.  Choose lillies, Perovskia (Russian sage), coreopsis or echinacea (cone flowers), which make a great tea!
• Wait until the full moon on May 20 for setting tomatoes, peppers and tender plants unless you can protect them from a late spring frost.
• Plant most tender vegetable crops by month's end.
• Staking tall and lanky perennials such as peonies, delphiniums and perovskia will allow them to remain handsome even after a hard rain.
• Set your lawn mower on the highest setting to prevent crabgrass and other weeds from germinating.  Most homeoners have their mower setting too low and cause grass stress.  Taller grass will give you a greener thicker lawn without chemicals and deeper roots to weather droughts during the summer.
• Your lawn and garden needs only about an inch of rain per week. Water a couple of times per week when there is no rain. Use tuna cans to measure how much water your sprinklers put down in a given time. This will save the environment and your wallet.

AUGUST

• Now is the time to reap all that you have sowed! Both flowers and vegetables are now producing and you can enjoy them fresh right now. Local farm markets have plenty of fresh, locally grown produce as well. Make the most of our new England summer.
• Clipping off spent blooms from most plants will encourage more flowers for you to enjoy all summer. Discard any moldy ones. Compost healthy greens for use to amend soil later on.
• Keep your gardens weeded so air circulation can be maximized. With all the rain, dampness is affecting many plants in a negative way. Remove any rotted fruit and discard. The sun should ripen most fruits and brighten our flower beds.
• Be on the lookout for a tomato blight which is spreading like the potato famine of Ireland. The wet summer has increased the blight which starts out as blotches on leaves and stems. It appears as a canker and spreads to all tomatoes. If you get this, destroy the affected plants to stop the spread of this disease.

SEPTEMBER

• Transplant shrubs and herbaceous perennials early this month. Water them well for the first few weeks. Divide and plant perennials and plant peonies in a sunny location later this month.
• Reseed bare spots in your lawn.
• Feed roses for the last time early this month. You may get another flush of blooms before the frost. Keep giving evergreens extra water to hydrate them in preparation for winter.
• Plan and plant spring flowering bulbs such as crocus, daffodils, and snow drops now. Wait until October to plant tulips as the weather will be cooler then.

OCTOBER

• Continue mowing the grass until the average temperature is 50 degrees. Mulch your leaves into the lawn with your mower if there are not too many. They will break down over the winter.
• Tulips can still be planted for next year until the ground freezes. All other bulbs should be planted by now!
• Tender vegetables such as beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and squash will be damaged by frost. Semi-hardy vegetables like beets, carrots, kale, radishes and spinach will survive a hard frost.
• Make notes about plants and changes you’d like to make for next year's garden. Ours is to use taller stakes for our dahlias, zinnias and Bells of Ireland.
• Continue watering evergreens to keep them hydrated for the winter. Use burlap screens to protect evergreens from severe winds.

NOVEMBER

• Fall cleanup of perennial gardens should include pruning back tender perennials such as hosta, sedum and fox glove to about 4" above the ground after the frost has killed their foliage. Woody perennials such as Russian sage, hydrangia and grasses can be left for winter interest. They will need to be pruned for shape in the spring once their foliage has sprouted.
• Mulch rose bushes with compost to cover their crown after the ground has begun to freeze. This will discourage mice and the like from harboring in the cozy mound. Mulch will help the rose plant slowly go dormant and stay frozen on warm winter days. Clip back canes only if they may become damaged by winter winds. Wait until St. Patrick's Day to prune roses.
• Wipe your garden tools with an oily cloth to help prevent rust.
• Cut greens for holiday decorations. Add winterberry, holly, fruit and dried flowers for an interesting display!
• Protect your perennials and evergreens from drying winter winds. Water well, mulch, wrap or cut back to protect during their dormant winter period.
• Cut back most perennials to 2 - 4 inches above the crown and mulch with straw or leaves. Secure all climbing and vining plants to their supports to prevent wind damage.
• Dig tender perennials like dahlia, cannas and gladiolus and store them in a cool dry place. Too warm and they will shrivel. Too cold and they will freeze and rot. Use crates or cardboard lined with newspaper. Not plastic bags! Layer with sawdust or straw to allow circulation. Check tubers once per month and mist if dry or discard if damaged or decayed.
• Do a final mowing and keep grass blades at 2 inches high. Adding lime at about 50 lbs. per 1000 square feet is the general rule. You may mulch leaves if not too heavy, adding nutrients back into the soil.