One on One

I am not exactly in the position I wanted to be in at this point in year but, I am enjoying my day thus far.  I made the call I needed to make this morning and have a counseling appointment tomorrow.  It will be the first one on one appointment I have had in at least five years and I am really looking forward to it.  That was far too long for me not to meet with someone.  I put other things ahead of my health and hopefully this will be a good step for me in learning how to transition a little easier.

It works out well this week being off as there is a lot of things to get done around the house.  My plan is to get things straightened out inside this morning and then do some work outside this afternoon if the rain lets up.

It was great to see people out doing spring clean ups on the weekend.  I see that many beds already have mulch in them.  The long range forecast looks as though milder temperatures are going to stay with us.  It is important though to be careful when putting down mulch this early in the season.  It is important not to put it on too soon.  It can be detrimental to the health of plants and shrubs if mulch is applied before the soil has thawed out completely.   It does appear as though it would be safe to lay it at this point.  Remember that there is such a thing as too much mulch.  You are looking to put down 2-3 inches.  If you put down a thin layer, the mulch will not serve one of its purposes which is being a weed suppressant.  A trick we used was to put your pointer finger in the mulch.  If the depth of the mulch covered your pointer finger, then you generally would be looking good.

Making a fresh edge is a great way to spruce up the look of your beds.  You can use an edger or even a spade.  A spade takes a little while to get the hang of when making an edge but, it can do a really good job if done right.  It is important not to take too much off of the edge.  I would say that you are looking to take off no more than an inch.  You want to make an edge at a 45 degree angle.  I believe it looks better aesthetically and it also serves the purpose of guarding against scalping if your mower accidentally goes over the edge.  When you edge, you want to maintain continuity  with your edge.  Each bed is different so it depends.  If there is a long stretch of a straight edge, it can help to have a string line to help maintain the straightness for the whole edge.  I have done so many edges that I do not use one but, it will help.  A key is to look up occasionally as your making your edge just to make sure you are not getting off course with the edge.  It is possible to make corrections to your edge but, it is beneficial to do it right the first time to avoid unnecessary work.

Spring pruning is also key to the health of plants and shrubs.  If you are not sure of how to prune certain plants and shrubs in the spring, there are some great videos on you tube.  I have seen some hack jobs in terms of pruning, so it important to prune properly and with purpose.  Pruning in the spring helps promote good growth and benefits the overall health of the plant or shrub.  Different varieties of shrubs do flower in the spring months so you have to be careful how much you are taking out of the plant and what type of wood you are taking out.  Some shrubs flower on first year wood and some flower on second year wood.  Taking some time to do some research in terms of what type of shrubs or plant you are pruning will be beneficial.  I still have a long way to go in terms of identification but, I have learned how to look at different species and recognize usually how I should approach pruning it.  It is important to look for dead or diseased parts of a shrub or plant.  They need to be cut out as low as possible as they will never come back unless something is done about it.  A wise man used to say, if it is brown, cut it down. A trick to check for life is to take hand pruners or a knife and gently scrape the bark.  You should be able to tell if there is still life in a branch or whether is needs to be taken out.

Time for me to get cleaning.

Have a great week.  Take care,  Shawn.

"Movement is medicine" Clara Hughes