March 2007

Hopefully we've seen the last of old man winter. Most of the ice seems to have melted and there is an abundance of bird activity in my yard! I have started to walk around outside and survey the damage of the winter. Those high winds of last week really did a job in my yard. Besides splitting a giant white cedar right down the middle, I have noticed some really large limbs down in the woods all around the house. There will be a lot more to pick up.

This is a good time to get your birdhouses out to attract some feathered residents for the spring. Remember if you want to attract Bluebirds the birdhouse should have an opening of exactly 1.5 inches. Bluebirds prefer an open area at woods edge. The house should be mounted on a pole 5 to 7 feet off the ground with a baffle to keep predators away. If House Sparrows begin to build a nest you should remove it immediately and repeat this if necessary. You want to place the birdhouse where you can monitor it easily to keep it Sparrow free. Once you get a nesting pair of Bluebirds there are likely to return every year !

As you survey your yard this spring you should check shrubs and trees for winter damage. Cut off broken or cracked limbs. As the buds start to emerge you can prune out branches that have died this winter. Also remove any branches which appear to be diseased. Early spring is a good time to prune, but leave your spring flowering shrubs until later or you will loose a lot of the bloom. Suckers and water sprouts(those branches that grow straight up from a limb, the trunk or the roots) should be cut off right at the bottom of the growth. This is a good time to cut back your Butterfly Bushes (Buddleia), Hydrangeas (peegee, oakleaf and arboresence), and Beautyberry (Callicarpa). Dogwood which are prevalent in Killingworth will also need a little bit of pruning. The native Dogwood is very slow growing so prune sparingly. Shrubs and trees that are fast growing need the pruning to keep them in shape and under control.

As you start to clear some of the clutter of leaves and other debris from your beds you should be seeing some of your spring bulbs peeking up. This is a good time to make some notes for the fall see where you have large spaces...I have found that if I don't do this while they are coming up I will never remember in the fall when it is time to plant where I wanted to put them! You can also trim back any of your perennials that started to grow with that warm beginning of winter and then died when the thermometer dropped suddenly.

I have noticed that the garden centers are starting to stock up --so that means it is only a matter of weeks before we get into the full swing of gardening again! I for one have had enough of winter!