What to Plant In Your Spring Garden

The Spring season is here! If you're like me, you look forward to the warmer months and are glad when Spring rolls around to know you're pretty close to those warmer temperatures. With the Spring season comes garden and flower season. Who doesn't love to spruce up their garden or home with a little Spring color! There are some great annual flowers you can get started with in the early Spring to add that pop of color and to get your garden season going.

The cooler weather can be hard on a garden as you never know how long it might last. But there are several annual flowers you can plant in the early Spring. They prefer the cooler temperatures of Spring and Fall. They do well in containers and planted in the ground and can stretch the garden season to seem much longer by planting early and late in the season.

Here is a list of some great cool season annuals you can print in your Spring garden. Most garden centers and shops will have a variety of these annuals in stock in the early Spring for those who like to start early.

- Diasca
- Pansies
- Violas
- Primrose
- Marigolds
- Cosmos
- Lobelia
- Verbena
- Geranium
- Dahlia

Pansies and Violas area a popular one that I like to add around my garden area. I specifically like to add them to my porch of my little garden shed. I have some window boxes and like to just set some pots of pansies out to add some Spring color.

You'll also want to keep an eye on the weather in early Spring. Be sure to not "jump the gun" when purchasing. The Spring weather still sometimes surprises us with random cold spells or continued snow. If not ideal weather is expected and you have annual flowers planted or in pots, cover them during the period of time or bring them into a protected area. Also, when the weather gets warmer, these cool weather loving annuals don't always thrive as well. So you'll want to add more warmer temperature annuals.

There are also many Spring blooming bulbs that you can add to your garden in the Fall for new planting to enjoy the following season. I will talk more about Spring bulbs in a later post. Most garden centers will also have these available in pots. I like to set them out and about around my garden shed or inside the home while they are blooming. Then after they bloom, you can transplant them to your garden to have for next year. Some of them are:

- Tulips
- Daffodils
- Hyacinth
- Crocus
- Anemone
- Grape Hyacinth
 - Iris

Lengthen your garden season and add some beautiful color by adding some spring annuals! You'll love the fresh pop of color and spruce up you'll be doing!!

What to plant in your garden?

Gardening season is here and I am already looking forward to fresh vegetables!! It feels great growing your own food! Growing a vegetable garden is one of the most rewarding activities you can do as a family. There is something about eating a juicy tomato picked right out of the garden. Or any produce for that matter. Homegrown vegetables taste better, have more nutrients, and are fresher than those store bought since you can pick them the same day you want to use them or at their ripest point.

I have gotten several questions from others asking about tips for what to plant in their gardens or suggestions on what to plant in their first gardens.

A great way to start is start with what you eat.
-Plant vegetable plants and garden seeds for the produce you know you will eat. You can try growing new things after you get some garden experience behind you. Growing produce you like, will help you give your garden more attention. Look at the food you eat regular and find out if you can grow what is in it.

If you are limited on space, there are a few ways you can look at what to grow for your garden.

Container gardening (also known as kitchen gardening or patio gardening)
-If you enjoy eating a lot of salads, this is a great option as lettuce has shallow root systems and do well in containers.
-Radishes and green onions grow quickly, you just need deeper containers
-You can also grow tomatoes and pepper plants in containers as well to add to your container garden.
-Container gardening is also great for growing herbs
Vegetable suggestions for container gardening:
      *leaf lettuce
      *spinach
      *green onions
   


Save money on groceries
-If you have more space you can grow a wide variety of vegetables, but make it easy for you.
-Are you a family that eats a lot of fruits and vegetables and purchases from the grocery store? Gardening is a great way to help your grocery bill.
             -for example: 1 bell pepper generally costs $1-$2 at the grocery store. You can buy a pepper
              plant for $2 or less (4 inch pot or a 4 pack tray) and yield several bell peppers.
Vegetable suggestions for gardening with more space:
           *green beans
           *

You will find that having your garden and growing your own produce is so rewarding! You will taste it in the freshness of the vegetables you are eating.
Enjoy gardening season and producing healthy food!