Get Out! Enjoying Spring in the Mini Garden

I’ve got my fleece hoodie on, my wool socks and a hat – and I’m inside in my office. It’s March in the PNW, did someone forget to order spring? I’m itching to get out in my garden and get growing! The only upside is that the plants don’t care about the cold and our spring flowers are pushing through regardless of what temperature it is. Oh to be a plant! 

What to do? We need to appease our inner gardener, right? It’s spring! Hello??

So, therefore, as a result and consequently, here are some ideas to hopefully get you inspired to do some gardening and/or miniature gardening – even when the weather isn’t that great.

Rain is Good

It’s really not so bad. Get that rain gear on and get out in it. With your “space-suit” on and an iPhone playing your favorite music or podcast, you instantly create your very own bubble and can have a lovely time getting some much-needed chores done. Want to make the world go away? This is how you do it. :o)

No, really, that is to say, This is How You Do It by Montell Jordan will get you up and moving. I dare you not to tap your toe at the very least. Lol!

There are a TON of free podcasts nowadays on all sorts of topics and you can always play a video and listen to it as well. Find the app on your phone and start exploring. My current favorite is the new Smartless podcast – those boys will keep you laughing! Scroll back through the blockbuster list of celebs they’ve interviewed.

TIPS FOR WORKING IN THE RAIN:

• Have a couple pairs of garden gloves handy so when one pair gets wet, you can change into dry ones, and keep going.
• Next time your at a garden center, look for the completely waterproof garden gloves that they FINALLY have.
• Don’t work the soil when it’s completely wet, you’ll damage all the microcosms and air-pockets in the soil and make mud.
• If the soil it too wet to work, pull weeds and clean-up your walkways and driveway. Get those fallen leaves off of your ground covers, off of your perennials and out of your shrubs.
• Prune your shrubby perennials. If your trees are still dormant and not showing any new buds at all, you can still prune them but it really does depend upon what tree or shrub you are pruning. If you have any questions regarding any plants from our Miniature Garden Center store, email us.
• You can clean out and organize your garden shed or your miniature garden studio. There’s nothing like puttering with the rain pattering on the roof.
• Clean-up your containers – or do it in the rain. Put your empty pots out in the rain to get washed, and use a scrub brush or rag to wash them and let the rain rinse them off.

Divide and Share

This cold spring has given us a little more time to dig up and divide some of our perennials, if you haven’t already done so. Ground covers follow this general rule:

• The first year they sleep,
• The second year they creep
• The third year they leap.

By dividing your ground covers in your miniature garden every two to three years, they’ll stay in check. AND you’ll get free plants! How awesome is that?

TIPS FOR DIGGING IN SPRING:

• Don’t dig when the soil is really wet, it’ll harm the micro-organisms in the soil. Wait until it’s damp.
• Follow the plant’s lead when dividing. You’ll see the different sections of the plant when you start to loosen the rootball. Break the roots apart gently, like you’re handling a dinner roll. Follow where the roots lead you, cutting only when necessary. (But if there are super-long roots, cut them back by one third before replanting.)
• Plant any extra divisions in different parts of the garden, miniature or full-size, to create a more cohesive, overall design.
• Watch out for the dormant plants that you can’t see yet! Refer to your photos from last summer so you don’t accidentally dig it up or bury it. Speaking from experience…
• Share extra plants with your neighbors, make another miniature garden, or plant them up in pots to donate to a charity plant sale later in the season.

For more about dormant plants, see our other blog, “I Know What You Did Last Summer” here.

Armchair Miniature Gardening

There is always virtual miniature gardening too! Here is a bunch of inspiration at your fingertips from our family of websites and channels:

• Please visit our new main website, MiniatureGarden.com.
• America’s First and Favorite Miniature Garden Center, TwoGreenThumbs.com
• Janit’s Miniature Garden photo album on Flickr.
• Consider digging deeper with more miniature garden ideas, plant information, crafting ideas, maintenance to-do’s at your finger tips and a whole-lot-more, MiniatureGardenSociety.org

Like this? Join us and thousands of other like-minded miniature gardeners for your FREE almost weekly Mini Garden Gazette. “It’s like a smile in my inbox, each week!” (from Patricia in CA.) Did I mention that it’s free? Sign up here: TwoGreenThumbs.com