Landscape

April Garden Checklist

Before we start dreading pulling weeds, there are a few steps we can take to prepare our trees, shrubs, vegetable gardens and flower beds for the season.

Photos by Hillary Ehlen and Sarah Liljestrand

It’s finally April, and we’re already dreaming about sweet summer nights spent tending our gardens. However, before we start dreading pulling weeds, there are a few steps we can take to prepare our trees, shrubs, vegetable gardens and flower beds for the season. We met with Sarah Liljestrand of Holland’s Landscaping & Garden Center to find out more about those steps. Now, you can use the following checklist to help create ideal growing conditions in your own yard.

Holland's landscaping

Vegetable Garden

☐ Add Soil Conditioner

Holland's landscaping

Holland's landscaping
Happy Frog is a soil conditioner at Holland’s that Liljestrand recommends.

Flower Beds

☐ Cut back your old perennials and trim off any old flowers from last year.
☐ Add those cuttings to your compost pile or take them to your city’s recycling drop sites.

“If you have your own compost pile, you can add your cuttings to that, but all the cities have compost sites, so your yard waste is not just going into the garbage and becomes soil for someone else.” – Sarah Liljestrand

Holland's landscaping

“We recommend not cutting those things back in the fall because we’ve been having winters with very little snow cover, and that old foliage protects the plant from the cold.” – Sarah Liljestrand

Holland's landscaping
Happy Frog also makes a fruit & flower fertilizer, which can also be found at Holland’s.

Trees & Shrubs

☐ Remove tree guards
☐ Remove tree supports if they’ve been on for more than a year
☐ Fertilize your trees and shrubs

“Early spring is a good time to fertilize, particularly with fruit trees.” – Sarah Liljestrand

Holland’s

1201 Center Ave. Moorhead
218-233-6131

 

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