April showers bring May flowers is not just a well-known aphorism. It is also something that can be happening in your spring garden this year. Whether you have a flower garden, a vegetable garden, an herb garden, or all of the above, now is the time to get working on your garden to have it ready for blooming plants, delicious vegetables, sweet fruit, or savory herbs.  Here are some gardening tips to have the spring garden of your dreams:

Gardening Tips For Your New Garden

1. Start with deciding what to plant – and where to plant

You want to make sure that you have the right plants for your climate, your soil, and the location of your garden. Growing pineapples in Maine is not going to work, no matter how hard you try. Make sure that you not only pick the best flowers, vegetables, fruits, that will work for your climate – check gardening tips and guides to see what will work for you. Also check the pH balance in your soil to make sure that it is up to snuff. And finally, make sure that the location of your garden gets sufficient sunlight. All your great gardening skills will go to waste if a house or a tree blocks the plot of land from getting enough sunlight. You also need to make sure that your garden will have a sufficient water supply.

2. Seeds or plants – make the choice

Depending upon your individual situation, you may want to start your spring garden with seeds, or with plants that have already begun to grow.  Either way is fine – you are not less of a gardener if you start with plants – and in some cases, you can have some plants starting from seeds, and others from plants from a local nursery. It is up to you.

3. Plan on how to group the plants together

For example, if you have a vegetable garden, you may want to plant the perennials together in one area of the garden, so that they grow together every year. You may also want to put early harvest fruits and vegetables near each other in one part of the garden, and late harvest fruits and vegetables at another part. When it comes to flowers, you may want to mix it up, so that you have flowers blooming all throughout the year.

4. Control weeds and pests

You may want to talk with your Lawn Doctor professional on tips for how to prevent weeds from emerging in your spring garden. Getting them to apply a pre-emergent pest control measure may be a good move, depending upon your individual situation. Mulching may also help prevent weeds. You also want to be on the lookout for pests such as rodents. Lawn Doctor can also give you individualized tips on how to keep those pests out.

5. Take care of the soil

Checking pH balance in your soil is one important part of gardening. Another is tilling the soil, using compost or fertilizer, and making sure that the soil is well cared for. Having healthy soil leads to a healthy garden.

6. Harvest at the correct time

Different plants have different harvest times. Pay attention to what are the peak harvest times for the individual fruits and vegetables in your garden, as well as when the best times are to pick flowers, and enjoy your spring garden.