“THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBANY HAS ISSUED A FREEZE WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM TO 8 AM EDT TUESDAY.  TEMPERATURES…LOWS IN THE LOWER 30S TONIGHT. * IMPACTS…DAMAGE TO SENSITIVE VEGETATION.”

Connecticut has had a stretch of beautiful warm weather. Mother’s Day is the recommended launch time for planting your summer garden. If you’re like many eager CT gardeners, you spent the last weekend amending your garden soil with organic compost or enriched topsoil, splitting perennials and planting annuals. Not to mention, filling the new vegetable garden with seeds and seedlings of summer squash, cucumbers, beets, kale and the like.

And now, after we’ve made that wonderful first foray into our summer garden and have great expectations of beautiful blooms….a frost looms! Look on the bright side: in Buffalo, NY they may have snow, but we’re just getting frost! So here’s how to protect your hard work in the garden and save your plants from this late frost.

Cover Tender Plants

Cover your plants before dusk, down to the soil. This keeps the stored heat in the garden and keeps plants protected from frost. Your cover can be simple, made from sheets or even newspaper or cardboard. It’s best to tent your cover so it doesn’t bend plants, but if you can’t then it’s okay to lay the cover directly on your plants. To make a tented cover, try running a row of sticks at the edge of your garden beds to raise the cover up over your plants, but drape it down to the soil. Once the frost has thawed in the morning, you can remove your tents.

Water the Evening Before the Frost

It’s counter-intuitive, we know. But watering around plants the evening before a spring frost can actually protect them from the nighttime frost. The soil will release moisture into the air over night, raising the temperature under your tents and keeping plants warmer. For really hard frosts, you can even fill plastic jugs with water and warm them during the day in the sun. Then place them around your plants, and tent the garden bed. Your garden soil and ambient air will cool faster than the warmed water in the jugs, so it will keep your plants warm.

Protect Plants that Aren’t Yet in the Ground

If you ran out to get a bunch of annual flats but haven’t had time to plant them yet, they need to be protected from frost. Bring them inside or in the garage. If you can’t do that, some areas of your garden will be less likely to experience damaging cold. Cold, frosty air moves to lower ground, and will pass over plants on higher ground or on slopes. So if your property is sloped, move your tender plants to the top of the hill. Placing them next to a wall or fence will also provide them with some protection from frost, as the structures absorb heat during the day that radiates and keeps plants warmer at night.

Keep Potted Plants Safe from Frost

Potted plants’ roots, especially those near the edge of the pot, can turn spongy and black if damaged by frost. This can stunt the plant’s growth. If you can’t bring potted plants inside, then place them on the ground (i.e. move them off your deck!) to take advantage any heat the ground will radiate overnight.

So cover up, and good luck!

Here are some springtime gardening events in CT to enjoy:

May Market at the Hill Stead

May 10-11
May Market
Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington

Enjoy a guided tour of the museum’s Sunken Garden. Shop for perennials and woodland plants, enjoy garden and cooking demonstrations with local experts, consult with horticulturalists and Master Gardeners, join an estate walk and take a self-guided tour of the museum.

June 7-16
GardenFest
Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme

A celebration of the site’s historic gardens that includes garden-related special events, workshops and activities for all ages and interests from the novice to the enthusiast. GardenFest culminates with “Blooms with a View” (June 14-16) with stunning arrangements created to interpret works of art.

June 14
Garden Tours
Wickham Park, Manchester

Join the Park Director for a historical tour of Wickham Park’s six uniquely landscaped gardens, including the English Garden, Oriental Garden, Lotus Garden and Cabin Garden.

White Flower Farm

June 22
Open House Day at White Flower Farm

White Flower Farm, Morris

The famous White Flower Farm catalog comes to life at the historic nursery’s lovely and sprawling gardens in Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills. Mark your calendars for visiting this incredible destination for its annual Open House Day. Old friends and new are welcomed for iced tea and cucumber sandwiches on the lawn. The display gardens should be close to peak and the Begonia House full of renowned Blackmore & Langdon varieties will be hitting its stride. Remember to make advance reservations for the guided tour of the display gardens.

June 23
10th Annual Historic Gardens Day, Statewide across Connecticut

Fourteen of CT’s most beautiful and unique sites offer special activities emphasizing their garden programs.

Sara M. Knight garden in West Hartford, CT will be open on May 11, 2013 from 10 – 4.

May – September
Garden Conservancy Open Days, Statewide

Enjoy self-guided tours at a variety of private gardens around the state throughout the summer during Garden Conservancy’s Open Days. Garden admission is only $5.00 per person, children under 12 are free.

Rhododendron Dell at the Kew Gardens in NY, www.kew.org

Right after your azaleas and rhododendrons are finished blooming is the best time to do any pruning they may need. In Connecticut, this time will soon be upon us so we thought we’d get you prepared.

These shrubs make blooms that flower on the prior year’s wood. So you have to be careful when pruning them since buds for next spring will be made this summer, and you don’t want to prune those off. Don’t wait to prune your azaleas and rhododendrons until late summer or even later, or you probably won’t get the flowers you’re looking for next year.

For rhododendrons with large leaves, you want to prune right above their “growth joints,” the place where the plant is starting to grow. Just beneath that point is where dormant buds are, so take care not to cut them off. Small-leafed rhododendrons and azaleas can be pruned anywhere along their stems.

Cutting back a rhododendron heavily can stop the plant from flowering for a year or two. You can prune pretty heavily if needed to get better shape for your bushes, just know that they may not flower for a year or more if you do so.

What should you prune away? Check the inside limbs for any that are dead or look weak. Any limbs on the ground or crossing over other limbs should be pruned away, too. You’ll be giving your bush better air circulation and a less hospitable environment for insects and disease.

Deciduous azaleas (that lose their leaves in the winter) differ from rhododendrons in that they can actually be sheared into a hedge. Anywhere you cut them on their stem, they will branch out. If you’re pruning evergreen azaleas, you can shear them after they flower.

Here’s a great how-to video on how to prune your rhododendrons:

If you’d like to attend, meet on the north side of the Capitol building (the side facing Bushnell Park) at 11:00am.  After the rally, there will be a GMO-free food tasting provided by various CT farms, chefs and businesses. If you are interested in participating in the tasting, email Tara Cook-Littman.

Right to Know GMO Rally 
May 21, 2013  11am
Capitol building
Hartford, CT

Flowers for your CT Garden

The CT Dahlia Society’s garden at Elizabeth Park

It’s finally time to really start digging into your garden. May in CT means your summer flower bulbs should get planted now, like dahlias, gladioli, and cannas. (You might check out Pleasant Valley Glads and Dahlias for some more unusual varieties)

Tuberous begonias are good to plant for your more shaded areas, where you have moist but well-drained soil. Caladium is also a nice choice for a shade garden, since it will add some color all season long with its brightly colored leaves.

Another interesting summer bulb with notable foliage to plant in May is Elephant’s Ear, which can grow from 2 to 4 feet tall. Use it to grace your shady spot with its enormous leaves shaped like, well, elephant’s ears!

Varieties can be found in colors ranging from green to yellow and even purple.  Elephant’s Ear grows best in part shade and will appreciate moist but well-drained soil.

Butterfly ginger, from onlineplantguide.com

One summer bulb you don’t see much in Connecticut gardens is Butterfly Ginger. It’s tall and an interesting specimen for the garden.

Choose a spot with full sun and moist, well-drained soil. It will bloom all summer and can reach 5 feet in height.

Or you might try a rare climbing bulb with gorgeous red and yellow blooms, the Gloriosa lily. It will climb to about 6 feet tall.

Gloriosa lilies, from tmseeds.com

Asiatic lilies from White Flower Farm

Asiatic lilies are a popular Connecticut summer bulb, and White Flower Farm has a beautiful selection of them. They should be grown in full sun and provided with moist, well-drained soil.

Crocosmia being visited by a hummingbird

A nice summer bulb to plant alongside them would be Crocosmia, which looks terribly exotic and “fussy” but in fact is very easily grown. The flowers resemble freesias and range in color from yellow to red.

May is also the time to put your annual flowers in, like impatiens, begonias, zinnias and the like. Don’t forget to add organic compost to your garden beds, as well as a 3 inch layer of natural mulch to keep the weeds down.

Vegetables to Plant in May

Get those peas into the ground now.

Early May is the time to get your beans planted, as well as corn. Both of them take a longer time to mature and harvest.

While it may feel “early,” you can sow seeds now for cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, watermelon, and radishes. Toward the end of May is the time to plant your tomatoes (check out this tomato growing guide), eggplants and peppers.

Happy gardening!

We had so much fun participating in last year’s Touch-A-Truck event at the Mandell JCC of Greater Hartford that we can’t wait for this year’s event to do it again!

Mark your calendar:
3rd Annual Touch-a-Truck
Date: Sunday, May 19, 2013
Time: 9:30 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Mandell JCC
335 Bloomfield Avenue
West Hartford, CT 06117

The trucks are the main attraction, but there will also be crafts, a bounce-house, PJ Library stories, and other great stuff for kids. It’s $18 per family.

Our driver, Lori, is also a grandma. The kids loved her.

This will be the JCC’s third annual Touch-A-Truck event for young children and families. Our dump truck was one of the biggest trucks there last year, but we were well prepared with a big step-stool and three representatives from GreenCycle who’ve all had plenty of experience with enthusiastic little kids.

This year we’ll be back to give the kids a chance to sit up high and get a photo of themselves in our big green truck. We’re giving out our little watering can planter sets again, which were a big hit last year. (Thank you to The Perfect Promotion in West Hartford for suggesting them!) Of course, we’ll give them a little advice about using organic compost as a natural fertilizer as we hand them their dwarf marigold seeds to grow at home.

 See more photos from the 2012 Touch-A-Truck on Facebook.

This sapling wasn’t mulched correctly.

Close-up of the sapling’s trunk, covered in mulch.

It is ideal to have about 3 inches deep of organic mulch around a tree to its drip line. However, take care not to cover the base of the tree’s trunk and its root flare with mulch.

The sapling in this photo was not mulched properly. It was “volcano mulched,” meaning the mulch was piled in a volcano shape right up to the bark of the trunk.

If you pile mulch against the trunk, it will hold moisture there and may lead to root rot. You want to mulch your trees from beyond that area out to their drip line or beyond, as far as an 8-foot diameter.

The root system of the tree extends far beyond its drip line. In a forest, that entire system would benefit from naturally-occurring mulch.

If you have old mulch around your trees, it may need to be raked to ensure it’s not matted. Otherwise, if it’s thick and matted water and air may not be able to seep through to the tree’s root system. Mulch that’s matted can also become weed-ridden.

This photo from vtfpr.org shows a properly mulched sapling.

Organic mulches usually need to be replenished a few times a year to ensure the right depth of mulch (3 inches) is protecting and nourishing your trees. As shown in this photo, remember to leave space around the trunk.

The hosta are peeking through

In Connecticut, early spring is the time to start your weed prevention efforts. Putting down a nice thick layer of natural mulch, up to 3 inches deep, will keep weed seeds from planting themselves in your garden beds in the first way. It’s the best way to prevent weeds – before they start growing. It will also keep your soil more moist throughout the season. GreenCycle’s all natural mulch will also improve your soil as it breaks down, so you get an added benefit.

If you’re doing your spring clean-up for your yard, make sure you’ve pulled any remnants of old weeds out of the garden beds. Then order a bulk delivery of mulch from GreenCycle, and spread it so you get about 3 inches of mulch coverage. Or you can bring us your yard waste for recycling and pick up your mulch at any one of our three Connecticut locations.

Mulching Around Your Perennials

Hemlock Mulch

For any plants that are already peeking springtime shoots up, like the hosta sprouting under this messy garden bed, just leave space for the shoots as you add mulch to the garden. This is a great time to add mulch because you can see where your perennials are sprouting already, yet you can lay down a good mulch layer to keep weeds away for the rest of the growing season.

If you’re not sure how much mulch you’ll need to order, use our mulch calculator. You can see our wide variety of mulch selections here.

Here are some things to consider when planning and launching your new garden plot.

1. Location: Vegetables really need full sun to prosper. So choose your location with that in mind. Flower gardens often require less sun to thrive, but vegetables won’t produce unless you give them the full sun they need.

2. Type of Bed: You can use a raised bed as your organic vegetable bed, or turn over a plot directly in your existing soil. If you’re building a raised bed, you can get a bulk delivery of topsoil and mix in some compost as a good base for your new vegetable garden.

If you’re making your garden in your existing soil, you’ll want to test the quality of the soil and make sure to amend it with a bulk order of compost. The nice thing about adding compost is that it acts as a natural fertilizer for your new vegetables, helping them grow strong and healthy.

3. Weed Control: Once you’ve built your bed and amended the soil with organic compost, you’ll want to keep the weed population down in your new vegetable garden.

All natural mulch is the perfect way to keep weeds down. Putting a layer of mulch about 2 inches thick will not only help with weed control, but also help guard your new vegetable garden from fungal diseases that otherwise can splash onto plant leaves. We offer a variety of mulches to choose from for this purpose, and you can always count on GreenCycle for the best quality mulch selections.

Get Rid of Yard Waste

You thought you carted all those leaves away last Fall, but now you see them piled up in places you didn’t expect. Start raking out those leaves now and you’ll already see some green shoots under there. So don’t rake aggressively – maybe use a pitchfork to pick around your plantings when removing unwanted leaves.

If your bushes have suffered from this winter’s big snow in Connecticut, go ahead and break out the pruning shears. Get rid of any dead brush and bring it to any of our three Connecticut locations for yard waste recycling. This is a great time to send the kids out to do a round of pick-up-sticks, which will neaten up the landscaping and make planting and mowing that much easier when the time comes.

Mulch your Beds

If you still have mulch on your garden beds, you can loosen it up, and straighten out your beds. If your beds are looking a bit bare, remember you want at least 2 inches thick of mulch to keep garden weeds at bay. Call GreenCycle for a fresh bulk mulch delivery – maybe try a new color this year? We’ve got a great selection of natural mulches to choose from.

Fertilize the Lawn

If you’re trying more organic lawn fertilizing techniques these days (and we hope you are), you can give your lawn a lite raking and spread some organic compost. The compost will give your lawn the nutrients it needs for good growth this spring.

Amend your Soil

March is a good time to get a bulk compost delivery and start adding compost to your flower beds and vegetable gardens. Building your soil up now means you’ll be ready when planting season arrives.

What to Plant in March in CT

March is the time to get some cold-weather crops into the ground, like peas. After you’ve turned your soil and amended it with compost, you can get those peas planted. You can also start some flowers and vegetables from seed indoors in March, as spring is really right around the corner.