DESIGNING YOUR EXTERIOR SPRING GARDEN

Spring is in the air and it’s time to plan your garden.

The exterior of your home is as important as the interior, and now with the warm weather coming, it’s time for appreciating the outdoors.

Whether your goal is to lounge, entertain, dine or simply escape, create your ideal outdoor space.

Create a green welcome with simple plant solutions. Fast-growing vines or flowering plants will quickly cloak walls and soften a wooden gate.

A shady green part of the garden seems a world away even though it's really just a few steps from the kitchen and all the hubbub of the backyard play area.

 A welcoming green entrance is always important, whether it's a cottage or a modern home.

 Here’s a useful springtime garden checklist from Better Homes & Gardens:

▪                Prep the beds. Remove winter mulch or, if well composted, work into the top layer of the soil. Work in some leaf mold or well-rotted manure, too.

▪                Prune. Now is the time to trim your fruit trees, if you didn't prune in winter. Prune before buds begin to break into bloom or you'll stress the tree and get a tiny crop (or possibly none).

▪                Perform basic maintenance. Check your stonework for frost heaves. Check and clean the deck now so you don't have to do it later; make any repairs.

Start seeds indoors. You've spent the winter reading seed and plant catalogs, now it’s time to start planting.

▪                Plant veggies. Hardy vegetables, such as onions, potatoes, artichokes, and some lettuces, should be planted now.

Divide perennials. Before plants have begun spring growth is a good time to divide many perennials. 

Here's Julianne Moore's New York City Garden!

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Have questions? Just ask above or contact me directly at andrea.halleywright@gmail.com.