{"id":3717,"date":"2022-06-21T05:49:05","date_gmt":"2022-06-21T13:49:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=3717"},"modified":"2022-06-21T05:49:05","modified_gmt":"2022-06-21T13:49:05","slug":"the-clutches-of-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/the-clutches-of-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"The Clutches of Spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Spring<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Summer is here, but many of us are still locked in the clutches of spring.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because the remnants of the swell garden party that was the spring growing season are still with us.\u00a0 Think of all the flashy \u201cguests\u201d at that party\u2014roses, clematis, peonies and iris of all sorts.\u00a0 They thrilled us all, garnered compliments and graciously allowed us to claim credit for the festival of color and garden exuberance.\u00a0 Now they have left the scene, except for a few Japanese iris hanging around in some places, and gardeners are left with the morning-after hangover.<\/p>\n

A few hot days withered the remaining daffodil foliage in the least attractive way.\u00a0 Roses have dropped their petals and need to be cut back to stimulate regrowth.\u00a0 German iris still have their dramatic sword-shaped leaves, but the flowers have evaporated, leaving only gray-brown remnants as a reminder of their bodacious blooms.\u00a0 The large-flowered clematis, which look almost tropical in bloom, are now half gone.\u00a0 The browning flowers have not yet given way to the elegant seedheads and the effect is less than inspiring.\u00a0 The flowering shrubs, like deutzia, weigela, lilac and spirea, have put on a magnificent spring show, but are now sporting new growth in every direction, which is the horticultural equivalent of waking up with severe bedhead after a wild night of revelry.<\/p>\n

And, to top it all off, the weeds that have been lurking under that dying daffodil foliage, or growing tall in the middle of abundant catmint wands, have come into their own.\u00a0 The avalanche of bamboo-like stilt grass and the ominous creep of crabgrass are beginning to make the spring onion epidemic look tame by comparison.<\/p>\n

All this happens overnight.\u00a0 Or perhaps it just seems like that, as gardeners are called away to promotions, graduations, weddings, picnics and all the other spring celebrations.\u00a0 Somehow, having an actual hangover makes the spring garden hangover that much worse.<\/p>\n

What to do?\u00a0 Try your best to multi-task in the available time.\u00a0 I find that harvesting the withered daffodil, hyacinth and tulip foliage is very compatible with ridding specific areas of the weeds underneath those desiccated leaves.\u00a0 Shearing back catmint will give you a chance to get at the nasties, like porcelain berry and wild grape, which have twined their way through the more desirable plants in egregious fashion.\u00a0 Make sure you get the roots out, because if you don\u2019t, they will begin a renewed attempt at garden domination before you even have time to put your tools away.<\/p>\n

If you have a mid-size to large garden and are working in a specific area, do all you can to make that one area cleaned-up and ready for summer.\u00a0 If the dead daffodil leaves are close to the bloomed-out deutizia, for example, clip the deutzia back by one third right after you collect the daffodil remnants and pull up the weeds around them.\u00a0 If you have had the forethought to lay in a supply of mulch, apply it to the newly liberated area.\u00a0 The finished look will make you feel like a gardening genius.<\/p>\n

Use a large-scale approach if you have to cut back swathes of iris foliage.\u00a0 I sharpen my garden shears and take on the large clumps of Siberian iris in one fell swoop, raking out the clipped leaves at the end.\u00a0 This is a good time to divide iris, but you can also leave it for later if other chores demand your attention.<\/p>\n

Reblooming roses can also be cut back by one third, and you don\u2019t have to be overly particular about where you make the specific cuts.\u00a0 If the weather is dry, make sure the newly-barbered roses get some extra water.\u00a0 Naturally, those roses should be mulched already, but if you haven\u2019t had the time yet, this is the moment.<\/p>\n

With summer upon us, all the daisy family members, including Shastas, coneflowers and coreopsis, are poised to make their grand entrance.\u00a0 Getting rid of the spring remnants provides them with the requisite elbow room.\u00a0 It also opens up spaces for annuals, which are abundant right now in the garden centers.\u00a0 Replacing spent spring foliage with zinnias, petunias, geraniums or coleus\u2014for shady spaces\u2014provides color and a full look without disturbing the sleeping bulbs beneath.<\/p>\n

And when you are prioritizing all the tasks that will free your garden from spring\u2019s clutches, remember to start with the jobs or garden areas that are the most meaningful for you. \u00a0If you long to sit on your shady patio on a hot day savoring a good book, tidy that area first and fill the empty spaces with color.<\/p>\n

And remember, garden progress is good; garden-related guilt is like stilt grass for the gardener\u2019s soul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Summer is here, but many of us are still locked in the clutches of spring.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because the remnants of the swell garden party that was the spring growing season are still with us.\u00a0 Think of all the flashy \u201cguests\u201d at that party\u2014roses, clematis, peonies and iris of all sorts.\u00a0 They thrilled us all, … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,2,3],"tags":[894,431,823,737,81,1387,477,1848,1181],"class_list":["post-3717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","tag-dividing-plants","tag-iris","tag-mulching","tag-perennials","tag-pruning","tag-reblooming-roses","tag-spring-bulbs","tag-spring-clean-up","tag-spring-flowering-plants"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3717"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3719,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3717\/revisions\/3719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}