RIDGEFIELD, CT — April showers may bring May flowers, but only if you’ve done the work.
Ridgefield gardening expert, Lisa Chuma, a member of The Ridgefield Garden Club, said there are some early perennials and bulbs just poking through the soil, but they were planted a while ago.
On the threshold of May’s blooms is instead a good time to get your garden cleaned and in order. Roll out the mulch in April to suppress weeds and hold in the moisture.
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“Just moving away the leaves, or mulch, or any dead stems or things like that allow the new growth to come up. And with any bulbs that are starting to emerge, you can kind of clean around those a little bit. “
If you are still itching to get yourself knuckle deep in dirt, planting pansies is your best bet, as they’ll weather the cool season, Chuma said.
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“As far as vegetables go, there are a few that do really, really well right now, but are not good during the summer. Spinach, kale, beets, radishes — they like the cooler temperatures.”
But don’t go vege-crazy, the gardener warned.
“Most of the traditional (vegetables), like tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, those plants can’t survive a frost, so those usually have to wait until around Memorial Day weekend,” Chuma said. That last weekend in May is the “general rule of thumb,” but “who knows, with the temperatures we’ve had, you never know.”
What’s certain is that April is exactly the right month to shuffle your garden around a bit.
“Dig it up, move it around, split it in half, expand it — this is a good time to do it, because the temperatures are so cool, before the weeds start coming up and taking over. And we can still count on a decent amount of rain to keep those things watered. It just makes the transition to a new spot a lot easier.”
Gov. Ned Lamont has proclaimed the month of April in Connecticut as native plant month, and it’s not just because he’s after the bee vote. The seeds, nuts, and fruits produced by these plants offer essential foods for all forms of wildlife. Expect to see a greater variety of butterflies in your garden if you incorporate native plants, as well as a stronger breed of chickadee.
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In Connecticut, native plants include aster, columbine, Solomon’s seal, turtlehead, and bee balm, among others. They may technically be weeds, but “they’re not the ratty-looking weeds on the side of the road,” Chuma said, and “can certainly be incorporated in a flower garden.”
In fact, the Ridgefield Garden Club has done exactly that. Members have just completed planting a special sub-garden of native species at Ballard Park downtown.
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