Hi Everybody…….time to come out of hibernation after a long, long, long (you get the point) cold winter…….it’s Home and Garden 
Show and Daylight Saving Time……time for a good swift kick in the “plants”. Join me as the Flowerland show broadcasts live from the West Michigan Home and Garden show. I’ll be on the Garden Stage Friday night at 5:30 to talk about “Lawn-Gevity”. On Saturday the Flowerland Show broadcasts from 9 AM to 11 Am on NewsRadio WOOD 1300 live from the main garden. After the show on Saturday I’ll be on the Garden Stage to talk about “Holey Moley” at 12:30. If the snow has cleared and you see the efforts of your neighborhood mole (they never hibernate) this picture might look familiar.
They do a lot of work along driveway and sidewalk edges. Snow is the great equalizer, everyone’s yard looks the same. When it melts however some homeowners are in for some frustration. Some give up simply claiming the moles as dependents on their tax returns. Others move but that may be difficult in this market.
Check back soon, I’ll be posting a “Holey Moley” page right here at thankyouvery mulch.com. For the time being I think most people get their advice or ideas from watching CaddyShack. Remember Bill Murray and his “license to kill gophers?”
Seen any bulbs popping out of the ground? It’s enough to make you “split your plants” isn’t it?
Regardless of “weather” or not the forecast cooperates…….there is no holding back spring! Below are a couple pictures I took in April 2005.
We’ve had a habit the past few years of experiencing a lot of snow in April. I’m hoping this year will be one of those great weather spring seasons. We’re off to a good start getting rid of the snowpiles in early March.
It’s not a “figleaf of your imagination…in the next few weeks let’s get outside to do some pruning too. It’s time to “tailor your plants”. Don’t prune evergreens, but deciduous plant material (plants that lose their leaves) can be pruned when dormant. There is no insect or disease activity, and with no foliage, you can get a good look at the shape of the plant. Don’t take a little off the top, you’ll get a “witches broom” look to the plant or tree. Selectively look for old, worn, damaged, crossing or weak branches and prune them all the way back. You’ll open the canopy of the plant for better light and air penetration. You’ll have a fuller more healthy plant. Don’t prune the overwintering flowering buds out of spring bloomers like Lilacs, WitchHazel or Forsythia. 
Again, selective prune some branches as opposed to “topping the plant” and shaping them into what I call “cheese balls” and “cracker boxes”. It’s a great time for selective pruning of fruit trees or ornamental flowering Crabs. Follow up the pruning with a dormant oil and lime sulphur spray in March. Sneak up on those dormant deciduous plants and do your pruning now…….soon you’ll have plenty of other things to do like planting! Happy trails to you as we head into spring!
