May is right around the corner and the weather has started warming up nicely. Those April showers are starting to give way to May flowers. Have you begun cleaning out your garden beds or planting anything yet? I put together a little inspiration and some tips today to help you enjoy all the season has to offer and add a little more color to your yard.
Preparations
Now is the time to assess your yard and garden beds and decide if there are plants that you want to move or bulbs that you want to split before everything opens up. You also most likely have a decent amount of leaves, sticks and other winter debris that need to be cleaned away. You soil could use a pick me up with some high quality compost (you can find this at your local garden center.) It is also the perfect time to give your Perennial plants some fertilizer; your azaleas, hydrangeas, roses and lilacs will thank you! Don’t forget to add a fresh layer of mulch to help keep the weeds at bay and everything looking tidy.
What to Plant?
Perennials! Perennials are a flower lovers best friend. Bulbs, bushes, shrubs, grasses; you really can’t go wrong. Put in a little time up front and you will enjoy the beauty for years to come. Tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are the harbingers of spring and you have probably been enjoying them popping up all over your neighborhood for the past few weeks. Though gorgeous, Tulips have the drawback of being very tasty to our wild friends like deer and bunnies. Unless you have a protected spot for them you may want to try the hardier Daffodil. Daffodils will give you cheery color and will spread and multiply fairly quickly over the years. You can plant some already blooming now in a sunny spot if you want instant color or plant just the bulbs in the fall. Creeping phlox is another favorite colorful Perennial. It blooms throughout the spring and makes a beautiful ground cover that will trail over hills, stone walls and flower pots. Day Lilies are a wonderful Perennial bulb that will spread very quickly and bloom for you from late spring all throughout the summer. They will need to be split very few years so you will always have more to plant in new spots or to give away!
Just because they only last a season doesn’t mean we should discount what annuals have to offer. Many of them will bloom all throughout the spring and summer, filling in wonderful pops of color to our yards. Annuals also do really well in flower boxes and in pots on your porch, front steps and deck. Impatients, pansies and petunias are beautiful and hardy options. Morning Glory is technically an annual but will often reseed itself and you will have a welcome surprise the following year when the little green shoots pop up! Morning glories climb really well up any sort of trellis or structure and will make a lovely focal point or to cover up unsightly but necessary items like A/C units, pipes, etc.
Relax
This is important; if you are putting a lot of work into your yard and gardens you want to make sure you take time to enjoy the oasis you have created. A great way to make sure you do that is to add some comfortable outdoor seating. Think: Adirondack chairs, hammock, small table and chair set or a bench. Anything that will encourage you to rest a moment and appreciate the beauty around you!
I hope you feel inspired to spend some time enjoying your own great outdoors and maybe even getting your hands dirty!
Please contact Lisa Pagano at lisa.pagano@mottandchace.com or 401.447.9505 for all your Real Estate needs.