Gardening Tips

Month-to-Month Garden & Lawn Care Check List from Southern Living Gardens

March
Lawns―As warm-season turf begins to green up in your area, it’s time to think about liming your grass. If your soil is acid, you need to do this every couple of years. The best way to tell if you need lime is with a soil test, which will let you know exactly how much to apply. But if you’re not able to get your soil tested, use the general guideline of 15 to 20 pounds of lime per 100 square feet of lawn area. Pelletized lime is less messy and easier to apply than the white-powdered kind.Azaleas―As this Southern classic comes into bloom, be sure to mark the color of each plant if you haven’t planted them by color. For maximum impact, group azaleas in masses of one color or in layers of color. It is okay to move them while they are blooming. But if you wait until they finish, they can be rearranged, pruned, and shaped for a better show next year.

April
Mulch―Now that winter is gone, remove and replace mulch around such plants as azaleas, roses, and camellias because disease spores and insects may have overwintered in this material. If you think disease or insects are not a problem, just freshen your mulch.Lawns―It’s time to start cutting warm-season turf such as Bermuda, St. Augustine, and centipede. Be careful not to scalp your lawn. Adjust the blade height so that the turf looks cut when finished, but you can’t see spots of soil. A good rule of thumb for spring cutting: Remove only about the top third of the grass blades each cutting. During periods of fast growth, try to cut your lawn at least once a week.
Herbs―Once the frost period has passed, it’s time to plant herbs. Culinary herbs are easy to grow, but be sure that you’ve planted enough of the ones you frequently use. As a general rule, it takes twice as many fresh herbs as it does dried ones to equal the same amount of flavor in cooking.