The Garden Gal

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March Gardening Calendar

March brings with it a sense of change, a feeling among all that there is light at the end of the tunnel. While there will still be plenty of cold days and nights ahead, and undoubtedly some more snow before it is all finished, all can sense that true spring is just around the corner.

While most of us might hardly notice the passage of Fall into Winter, we all notice the first day of spring this month. Be it balmy or blustery, the first day of spring marks a mental turning point: Warmer days are ahead. March is also a time when the pace starts to pick up for those of us who garden in the southern Great Lakes region:

1. If the weather stays consistently moderate, gradually start to remove mulch from early flowering perennials as they break dormancy.

2. If you haven't already done so, finish removing foliage and dead flower stems from your perennials beds. Also start trimming ornamental grasses: Remove the dried plumes and foliage. Place back any perennial that has heaved out of the ground.

3. Although it might be tempting, leave the mulch and soil mounds around roses for a few weeks longer. There are still plenty of opportunities for more cold weather and snow in the weeks ahead.

4. Continue to prune fruit trees and grapevines this month. Finish this task by the second week of the month at the latest.

5. When the temperatures are above 50, apply dormant oil spray to fruit trees and deciduous ornamental shrubs and trees.

6. Look around your yard and see where things are starting to grow. Look to see where similar plants are still dormant. These are microclimates, and by observing frost patterns and where plants break dormancy early or not, you can use this information when siting new plants.

7. Continue to start seeds indoors.

8. Towards the end of the month, start removing your windbreaks around such plants as your rhododendrons. Keep your hydrangeas macrophyllas covered a little while longer.

9. As leaves of your spring flowering bulbs start to emerge, scratch in a little bone meal or organic fertilizer in the soil around these plants.

10. Get the lawnmower and other power tools ready to go for the upcoming season. The time to mow will come sooner than you think!

11. Take advantage of pre-season sales to purchase yard maintenance equipment.

12. If you didn't do this last fall, now is a good time to empty your soil from your pots and hanging baskets. Add the old soil to the compost pile or your gardens. Clean and sterilize your containers before using, and buy new containers while the selection is still good.

13. Get bids for any big landscaping projects. If you use a lawn service, now is a good time to get bids from several different services before the busy season begins.

14. Maintain your cold frame. Keep it open on warm, sunny days to prevent the plants from getting too warm.

15. Continue to take branches of early spring flowering bushes in for forcing. The closer to the time when they normally bloom, the easier they are to force.

16. Pot up some pansies for early outdoor color. They can stand it down to about 30 degrees. Bring them up to the porch or another protected spot if the temperature threatens to dip lower.

17. Scratch in some cottonseed meal or other organic fertilizer around your azaleas and rhododendrons as their buds begin to swell.

18. Start your summer bulbs indoors such as dahlias and begonias the last two weeks of this month.

19. Don't forget to keep feeding the birds!

20. Take in a flower show. Our region's cities host many home and garden shows. It is a great way to spend a weekend day. Also take a simple walk around the yard to see what's cookin'. You might spy a crocus or more already in bloom!

Favorite Plant Sources

Bluestone Perennials

Flower Scent Gardens

Plant Delights Nursery

Old House Gardens Heirloom Flower Bulbs

Itsaul Plants

Fairweather Gardens

Odyssey Bulbs

Miss Becky's Lily Farm

My Bio

I am a Wife, Mom, and Grandma living in NE Indiana. Born in Ohio, and a true Great Laker. I've lived in the region for most of my life, and while I am not directly on any of the big lakes, I do have my own little Spot of Heaven on one of the smaller lakes that dot northern Indiana and Southern Lower Michigan. I am a quick drive to three of the Great Lakes, and this region is truly one of the garden spots of the US.

Family is the most important aspect of our lives. I enjoy living close to my children and grandchildren.

Do come to the new & improved community for Through The Garden Gate, and feel free to post: The Garden Spot .

If you like themes, come and visit my ezboard theme board. Many would look good on YUKU: Themes By Harmony Hollow Graphics.

Once everything is settled, I will be moving shop over to YUKU for skinning new themes.

My Hobbies

I enjoy writing, gardening,painting, traveling, and fishing, crocheting, and creating in general.

My gardening website is:

The Southern Great Lakes Gardener.

Spotlight Plant of the Month

Spotlight Plant Of The Month For March: Crocus

Many people have their own ways of measuring when the changeover to spring is imminent. Perhaps it is the migration of the geese. In California, Photo Courtesy of Free Image it might be the return of the swallows at Capistrano. For me, it is the blooming of the crocus.

True, there are plants that have already started to bloom by the time the crocus get with the program: Winter aconite, snowdrops, and even some shrubs have already started to bloom in our Southern Great Lakes Region. But, my personal sign that the arrival of spring is just around the corner is when these friendly little flowers start strutting their stuff.

Crocus come in what my kids used to call, "Easter colors": Sky blue, striped purple on lavender, white, lavender, deepest purple, and buttery yellow, and all with the pretty orange stamens. They probably remind me so much of Easter merely by their colors, that this is the reason why I consider them to be spring's calling card.

Crocus vernus, or Dutch crocus, are those huge, goblet-shaped crocus that most of us are familiar with. Planted in drifts, they are a sight for sore eyes after a long, harsh winter. Planted in the lawn, they are stunning! The only drawback is that lawns cannot be mowed for about six weeks after bloom time. The crocus are forming little cormlets. They are also storing food in the mother corms for next year's bulbs. That is not a practical situation for many homeowners. So, naturalize them in the woods, or in the flower beds. They are just as stunning!

Those little bunching crocus, Crocus chrysanathus, or the Snow Crocus, have daintier flowers and are also smaller than the Dutch crocus. They are little miniature bouquets. Usually at least three flowers will break from one corm. They are also a bit earlier to bloom than the larger Dutch varieties. Another small variety to consider is Crocus tommasinianus, which sports many lovely blue and purple flowers.

Looks are deceiving! These perky little posies are anything but dainty! Often, as is usual in this neck of the woods, a warm stretch of weather late in the winter will coax them into blooming. Just as they start to hit their stride, they will often get walloped by a cold snap or snowstorm. Or so it may seem.

These little plants are so resilient, that only a truly bitter spell will cut their season short. Thankfully, this doesn't happen very often this time of the year. Dips into the low twenties and snow on the plants usually won't stop them once their blooming cycle is underway. When I think about it, that is precisely why I consider them to be the true heralds of spring!

Planting is easy: Just plant them in the fall, and the following spring, they will arrive. The first year they might wake up a little later than usual, but after that, they will greet you when you need that shot-in-the arm the most! Like any endearing plant, they will spread and grow, but never become a nuisance. What a better way to say goodbye to winter and hello to spring than with a few cheerful crocus

My Thoughts About Kudos and Other Things

I love having friends, and as for Kudos, they are nice to give and receive,

But...

Please don't be just a hit and run poster. Since you are already here, do have a look at the links to my communities on my profile and come in and visit and post there, too! I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

I have a community, The Garden Spot. Don't let the name throw you off, though; even if you don't know mulch from dirt, there's so much more going on there than gardening. Do stop by:

The Garden Spot

Then, there's my other community here on Yuku. If you have a community, or are thinking about starting one, pop over to my skin designs community for some inspiration or to pick up a fresh new look for your boards:

Designs by Harmony Hollow Graphics

So, drop on by, stay a while, have a look, and make new friends or pickup a design for your Yuku community! While you are visiting, do stop in to say hello and join the fun!