Laurie Garretson: Gardening chores that may be completed now | Dwelling And Backyard

If you are a gardener anxious for warm spring weather to come so that you can work in your garden, stop wishing and take advantage of the sunny, warm, spring-like days we occasionally have at this time of year.

There is a lot of gardening work that can be done right now. Postponing it simply means more work in the near future. Spring will be there before you know it, and for gardeners, spring usually means lots of chores. Let’s see what gardening chores we can do now to ease the spring workload in the garden.

If you’re tired of mowing the lawn and paying higher water bills, especially in our dry, hot summers, now may be a good time to clean up some of your lawns. Replace lawn grass with ground cover such as gravel, crushed granite, flagstone, monkey grass, low-growing sedums, or simply replace some lawns with native plants and grasses.

Now might be a good time to start installing the water garden you want. Much of this project can be done without getting wet, which I think could be a plus at this time of year. The water part can be added as the temperatures warm up.

How about when you finally put up the deer fence you’ve always thought of installing? Or how about pruning your fruit trees? Most fruit trees drop their leaves in winter, which makes pruning easier.

Mulching is always a good thing in all types of garden beds, be it fall, winter, spring, or summer. Have you ever realized that more mulch can spray fewer weeds? A good thick layer of plenty can help reduce weed growth.

Another useful gardening job for this time of year could be making a compost heap. Fallen leaves can be added to your new or an existing pile.

Until next time, we are all trying to garden with nature, not against it, and maybe all of our weeds will turn into wildflowers.

Laurie Garretson is a gardener and kindergarten owner from Victoria. Send your gardening questions to laurie@vicad.com or the lawyer, PO Box 1518, Victoria, TX 77902.