Take weeds, for instance. If your garden is anything like mine, you should have plenty of weeds growing amidst foundation plants, winter flowers and bare dirt. Pull or hoe weeds and put them in the trash (not the compost pile because of weed seeds). I've found an easy way to rid my yard of weeds is with my string trimmer (weed wacker). After the weeds are chopped down to ground level, I'll sometimes spray the tops with Roundup or Finale. Either way, roots and all are dead within a week.
After your weeds are under control, your soil and future plantings will benefit from a 2 to 4-inch layer of mulch. Mulch not only puts a nice finishing touch over bare dirt, but will improve your soil by benefiting drainage, save on water and even prevent some weeds from germinating. Mulch can range from anything from compost from a finished compost pile to redwood soil conditioner, ground fir bark, "gorilla" hair, etc. All are available in bulk or in pre-packed bags.
Since we mentioned saving water, our hot weather will be here before we know it. It's not too early to get your drip irrigation system in place. Tubing and drip emitters are inexpensive and available at any garden center. Drip irrigation is ideal for flowers, vegetables and individual plantings. If it's a large area, consider traditional sprinklers or soaker hoses. If you have drip or sprinkler systems in place, this is the time to test them out, unclog sprinkler heads and buy replacement parts. For individual plants like roses and fruit trees, consider forming dirt basins around their bases. This allows for deep soaking and encourages deep, healthy roots rather than simply sprinkling surface roots.
You can plant practically anything this time of year. At the top of most gardeners' lists, though, are summer bedding plants and vegetable transplants.
Impatiens, petunias, geraniums and marigolds are among the so-called "major" annual flowers, but don't forget about "minor" crops like campanula, lisianthus, nicotiana and torenia. Some of these not-so-known flowers provide great color that will have visitors asking you what they are. It's always nice to feel like an expert when you tell people about a flower they're not familiar with. Some of these minor flowers will have to be grown by seed since they're probably not available as transplants. Vegetables that can be planted by seed or transplants range from tomatoes and squash to eggplant, cucumbers and even kohlrabi.
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