The Flower Garden

One of the great joys of early spring are the first flowers which brighten the otherwise gray landscape.

Among the earliest of bloomers are lenten roses and witch hazel which begin blooming in February.

If you love the brilliant colors of daffodils and tulips for example, the time to plan for bulbs is November, when they are planted to produce flowers for the following spring.

When planting bulbs. add some bone meal to each hole, as this will be of good benefit for healthy plants and flower production.

When planning your summer and fall flower gardens, you may want to consider staggering you seeding so that you will have flowers throughout the growing season.

A good example would be zinnias. As soon as you get your first seedlings reach a height of from 6 to 8 inches, you can begin with your second seeding and then a third, which will insure you having flowers right up to the first frost.

John Coykendall, Master Gardener