-:- gardening tips -:-

JANUARY
- a great time to plant trees & shrubs because they are dormant.
- you can still plant your spring flowering bulbs!
- start thinking ahead to changes you'd like to make in your garden or where you might like to put your new veggie bed; sketch out ideas and start amending the soil with compost or leaves that you have raked up, and mark things you'd like to add in catalogs or online.

FEBRUARY
- a great time is the ideal time to prune your roses. Remove all weak growth, as well as stems that cross others unattractively. Always cut above buds that face outward on the plant.
- If you have not done it already and plan to prune evergreens this year, get out and do it now. Never prune evergreens after the new growth begins.
-Bring loveliness into your home by cutting a few budding branches of flowering quince. Hammer the ends, place in a tall vase of water, and in a few days you will have a breath of spring to enjoy indoors.
-Want to enjoy the season's Lenten roses indoors? Cut them on the diagonal near the bases of their stems and plunge the stems immediately into a container filled with a mixture of half gin and half water. Leave overnight in a dark, cool room. You will have happy hellebores inside for weeks.

MARCH
- It's time to make your catalogue choices of summer-blooming bulbs and corms such as Asiatic and oriental lilies, gladiolus, and dahlias. Plant them next month when the soil has warmed and dried out a bit. Even though we are having nice days, it's too early to plant most seeds in the ground. English peas and sweet peas, however, can go in.  It's not too early to start preparing your soil for planting seeds, as long as it's not too wet.  Feed camellias that have finished blooming.

APRIL
- plant your vegetable gardens this month. start seeds indoors, or out after the 15th, once threat of frost has passed & as long as the ground is not too wet. www.seedsofchange.com is a good source for organic veggie seeds and starts.
- there are many great plant sales & swaps all over Athens this month
- after the 15th (our last-frost date), take your indoor plants outside for a summer of sunshine and rainwater- transition them into a shady spot first, then into sun

MAY
- consider installing a rain barrel attached to a downspout to collect extra water for the dry summer months
- try to stay on top of weeds before they go to seed
- deadhead all flowers, perennials and herbs to keep them blooming throughout the summer
- cut flowers from the garden for arranging in the early morning when the stems are full of water

JUNE
- harvest your veggies! and share extras with friends, or our local food bank
- try not to move or plant trees during the summer, our heat is too much for them
- remove pest-infested branches from shrubs & small trees
- water early in the morning and only on your "odd-or-even" day to conserve water
- this is a good time to propagate soft-wood cuttings: hydrangeas root easily, and butterfly bushes do too and really do attract butterflies to your garden

JULY
- keep mosquitos in check- get rid of all standing water in your garden so they do not have a place to breed
- if you are traveling this summer, keep you eyes open for plants you discover while there. you may be able to plant them here in your own garden.
- make sure your vegetable garden (and your other beds, for that matter) is well-mulched to help retain water
- attract helpful garden insects (lady bugs, praying mantis) with queen anne's lace and yarrow
- start thinking ahead to your fall veggie garden and order seeds: www.seedsofchange.com

AUGUST
- it is hot about now!
- water your drought-stressed plants deeply in the mornings
- dry harvested herbs by hanging upside down in a coll dark place, or make big batches of pesto and freeze to last through winter
- don't prune woody-stemmed plants this month- the new growth that follows may not be hardy enough to make it through winter

SEPTEMBER
- plant your cool season veggies now; consider interspering them in your beds as kale and other greens can be a nice filler in the sunny perennial border as things die back
- if you haven't already, order your spring bulbs now to plant or force next month
- now is a good time to start dividing plants such as hosta and daylilies
- prepare to move your potted plants back indoors- check for bugs and repot if necessary
- shop for new shrubs and annuals- there are many great plant sales around athens this month: the bot gardens, the UGA hort dept., etc.! keep in mind that native plants are low maintenance and are best-suited for our area
- and get your hammock back out to enjoy the cooling temps!

OCTOBER
- With these slightly cooler days arriving, it is just about time for fall garden activities: planting winter annuals such as pansies, herbs such as parsley, and most perennials and shrubs. One of the most important things to remember when planting shrubs and trees is digging the hole big enough. This is hard to make yourself do in our hard red clay, but it will pay off in the health and happiness of your plants.  Dig a hole that seems HUGE for your plant's roots, and, when you replace the soil, chop it up fine and mix it with compost and/or manure. This will make it easy for the plant to adjust to its new site by growing a strong root system right away, before the winter cold sets in. Don't forget to water well just after you plant. Unless it gets hot again or we have an unusually dry fall, you won't need to water it again until spring.
- Plant those spring bulbs!  If the nursery catalogue says a bulb blooms in March-April, that usually means mid-February for us! Try bulbs that are predicted to bloom in late April/May for a better chance of having an armload for the April Zone Meeting. Late-blooming tulips would be a great choice.