DO Expect there to be lots of action in your garden, even if you can’t see it.
Many types of wildlife overwinter in the garden and are ready to welcome you in spring. Look for birds like chickadees, nuthatches, and cardinals who have never left the garden if they’ve had access to food, water, and shelter. Squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits have been foraging through your garden all winter and may be using thickets or brush piles for shelter.
And, if you pull back some leaves on a warm spring day, you are likely to notice caterpillars, spiders, pill bugs, snails and other insects under the leaves. Frogs and toads may be waiting for you at a pond or other wetland area that doesn’t fully freeze.
DO Consider swapping your lawn for a meadow garden.
As appreciation for lawn alternatives continues to grow, meadow gardens are seeing a sharp rise in popularity. These landscapes consist of droughttolerant and pollinatorfriendly plants that come together with a relaxed design that echoes the rhythms of nature.
When you’re ready to remove some — or all — of your grass, Mark and Ben Cullen advise that the easiest way to build your bed over your lawn is by adding a layer of uncoated cardboard directly on top of the existing grass. To get started, thoroughly soak the cardboard in a rain barrel before putting it down. Doing this will allow it to tear easily into various shapes to fit the desired form of your new bed. On top of the cardboard, add a thick layer of wood mulch. Leave the cardboard and mulch in place for one season to smother the grass below and add organic matter to the topsoil.
Or, to save yourself a year of waiting, you can add a layer of fresh topsoil between the cardboard and the mulch, and plant directly into the fresh soil in your first year.
DO Use natural materials.
Nature gives us the most beautiful designs and so much of it is free. Continue augmenting your landscape with natural mulch on pathways, uneven rocks lining a garden bed and fallen sticks and stumps to support and encourage climbing plants.
DO Plant Evergreens.
Classified as perennial, along with all the plants that we rely on to return from dormancy each spring in the Canadian garden, evergreens attract a lot of attention. True evergreens: spruce, pine, fir, and the like hold their foliage yearround.
Not only can they look attractive in your yard yearround, but they also provide habitat and protection for songbirds and cones and seeds that support wildlife (we won’t mention squirrels). When they are located thoughtfully, they protect buildings from wind and sun where we live and work, saving energy costs for heating and cooling. Mark and Ben Cullen’s favourite evergreens vary according to their use in the landscape though the following five are always good bets.
Native white cedar (Thuja occidentalis)
For hedging, nothing comes close for great looks, fast growth, and durability. On the Canadian prairies, a
hardier alternative is Brandon cedar (Thuja occidentalis ‘Brandon’). Trimmed into a formal hedge, cedars
will mature at two metres, up to several metres, depending on how aggressively you prune them. Cedars
need at least six hours of sunlight to perform at their best.
Fir
Of all the “Christmas tree” shaped evergreens available for Canadian gardens, fir (Abies) tops our list. They
grow straight, feature soft needles (easy on the touch), grow quickly, and many are native. Balsam fir (Abies
balsamea) populates much of the Maritimes, while Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is one of the giants of the B.C. forest. A bonus: all fir have a lovely, relaxing “evergreen” scent. When you buy a sachet of evergreen
fragrance, it is likely filled with Balsam fir needles.
Junipers (Juniperus)
For the foundation planting around your home, junipers are winterhardy and often colourful as they can feature hues of blue, grey, and deep green. Their growth habit varies widely from lowgrowing prostrate varieties to tall, spireshaped giants that mature to about three or four metres. All junipers lend themselves to pruning in late May through early June to keep them looking neat, thick, and tidy. If a juniper grows in front of your favourite viewing window, do not be afraid to cut it down to size. Junipers tend to come back from severe pruning over time. However, be sure to wear long sleeves while pruning your junipers, or your forearms may get “juniper burn,” a shortlived irritation that turns your skin red.
Yews (Taxus)
This is a large family of evergreens. It includes Hill’s yew (Taxus x media ‘Hillii’), which is suitable for short hedges, and Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata), for a feature plant in any garden. Yews are shade tolerant and grow well in dry, sandy soil. Sadly, they are generally not hardy in growing zones above zone 4 (Ottawa/Montreal). Perhaps you would consider moving to a milder climate so you can enjoy yews?
White spruce (Picea glauca)
The native Picea glauca is a great choice where there is lots of space to fill, and a grand tree is most suitable. The broad, sweeping branches of White Spruce are gorgeous any time of year, but especially when burdened with soft snow. Birds love them for foraging and nesting. Matures to 20 metres and about 8 metres at the base.
DO Prune but do it cautiously.
Some shrubs are best cut in late winter or early spring. If this is the case, then keep an eye out for chrysalises and cocoons that could be attached to plant stems. If you come across one, don’t disturb it.
DO Watch your step.
It’s tempting to walk through flower beds to check on emerging plants but don’t. Early spring soil is wet and compacts easily. Stepping on it will damage plant (leaves and buds) growth and could unsettle grounddwelling native bees. Instead, add pebble pathways when designing a new garden or retrofit existing beds with larger stepping stones that will guide you through.
DO Keep a logbook with you while you garden.
Record dates, plant names (common and Latin) and weather patterns along with general observations about plant combinations and growing habits.
DO Plan a space for a cut flower garden.
Cut flowers not only make our home beautiful but they are essential for our mental wellbeing. A behavioural research study conducted by Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, reveals that people feel more compassionate toward others, have less worry and anxiety, and feel less depressed when fresh cut flowers are present in the home and we’re taking this as a sign to grow our own bouquets. Some favourite and easytogrow plants for cutting include the following sunshine lovers:
- Giant zinnias. Be sure to plant the varieties that grow 80 cm to one metre (31 inches to three feet) high. The shortstemmed ones may bloom earlier, but they are difficult to arrange in a vase.
- Cosmos. There is nothing easier to grow from seed, so don’t waste your money on transplants. Cosmos will germinate in seven days in warm soil. They may not bloom until late July or early August, but they are worth the wait. Once they start to bloom, they do not stop until late frost.
- Nigella. A beautiful baby blue flower that produces lots of blooms on light, airy foliage (that looks like fennel).
- Bee balm (Monarda). A wellknown, native plant that attracts bees, naturally, bee balm also cuts and holds its petals well in a vase of water indoors. This plant will spread in the garden, so be prepared to dig and divide it every few years.
- Peony. The flowering time for peonies is short but the sweetly scented full blossoms are worth the wait and the space (they can grow the size of a small shrub) they take up in your garden.
DON’T Clean up.
Leave some decaying plant material on the ground. Despite looking life-less, leaves and old stems provide important habitat that gives food and shelter to insects and other wildlife.
