5 Things To Do In Your Yard/Garden During Quarantine
Someday, this post is really going to date this time: spring 2020, the strangest one a lot of us have lived through. We can probably all count many ways in which this season is costing us or causing us hardship. I have many of my own. But one thing I’ve been challenging myself to think through is how I can most strategically use this time. Yes, there are so many things I can’t do right now; but what can I do? Can I find blessing and beauty here?
I’ve been so encouraged to see people spending more time outside. My neighbors are walking their dogs up and down the street every day, and I’m home to see it. People are on their porches and spending time in the yard with their kids. If it weren’t for the looming virus threat and all that comes with it, I’d think that maybe we’d gone back in time a few decades. With quarantine, I’ve also had a little more time to be outside than expected this spring. I’m doing class online now, which is weird and I feel a bit cheated, but the upside is that I can do the work at night and spend more time outside during the day!
A big thing on my heart is the idea that we all need hope right now - we need to see things changing and growing in a positive way - and that’s exactly what spring can give us. With that in mind, here are five things to do in your yard and/or garden right now during quarantine. (Bonus! The first three are FREE.)
ONE | PLAN & DREAM. B and I find that our best ideas evolve over time, can’t be rushed, and often originate out of the blue during what we like to call “garden walks.” That usually looks like at least once every day taking a turn around the entire yard and garden to see what’s new (at this time of year, things really are different from day to day), appreciate all the little details, and dream about what’s possible. We’ve planned out projects for years from now, and it’s just so fun. We are all home more right now than ever, so even if you’re not usually able to take a daily walk around your yard during normal circumstances, you probably can manage to do so now! With repetition, you’ll start to notice things, like where the ground stays wet or an area that you thought was sunny because the sun was shining on it when you left for work, but that actually gets mostly shade the rest of the day. All of this noticing will come in handy when it’s time to actually do some work. Maybe during this time you can take some action on the ideas you gain and turn them into a rewarding project, or you can always stash them away for the next opportunity that money & resources allow.
TWO | CLEAN UP. This costs nothing but effort, yet makes an absolute world of difference. Is there an overgrown or messy corner you’ve been ignoring “until you have time to deal with it”? (I’m raising my own hand here!) I have a running list of tidying projects outside that rivals Marie Kondo, and there’s almost nothing more satisfying than knocking a few out. Here’s what my spring list looks like currently:
Clear out crepe myrtle bed
Search and destroy brambles along west property line
Organize potting shed (Done!)
Weed front foundation beds
Sink turf barrier in cutting garden
THREE | PRUNE. Technically the very best time to prune most plants is late winter/early spring when they’re just waking up (with the exception of spring bloomers, or you cut off blooms). But I’ve also heard a wise man say that the next best time to prune is whenever you feel motivated to do it. If it needs doing and you have time and energy, don’t wait. The benefit of pruning now when leaves are just coming out is that you can clearly see any branches that have died over the winter and needs to be removed. Trim off any remaining spent flower heads on hydrangeas from last season, cut back straggly azaleas after they’re done blooming, and if evergreen/foundation shrubs are looking a bit overgrown, the best approach is to cut back selectively by hand, always trimming back to where there is another branch or two coming off the main branch. (Never leave a stump!) The reason to prune by hand, which is slower than simply pulling out the gas-powered shears (or paying a landscaper to) and doing a buzz-cut is two-fold. First, it’s much better for long-term health and is the only way to truly control and contain the growth of a vigorous plant. Second, pruning by hand avoids the “green meatball” look of many foundation plantings and gives a much more natural effect. Rather than that “just-sheared-sheep” look, a well-executed pruning job should only be visible on close examination - making the plants look as if they were barely touched at all. The only exception to this by-hand rule would be topiary or formal hedging.
FOUR | MULCH. Nothing polishes off a landscape like a fresh layer of mulch. That said, mulch is absolutely not just lipstick for your yard. It helps retain moisture throughout the heat of summer, reduces weed pressure, and over time breaks down to enrich the soil with organic matter. And the healthier the soil is, the better the plants will grow, and the less open areas there will to need mulch. If you have just a small area to do, it might be most convenient to buy mulch in bags. But if you’re doing any volume of bed area, it’s worth ordering a load to be delivered by dump truck. Here are few pointers on types of mulch:
Pine Straw - slightly acidifying to soil, so if you don’t know your soil pH, or you’re not sure that the plants in your landscape want or can tolerate a little extra acid, I’d avoid.
Hardwood Mulch - This is a classic choice for good reason. The main things to make sure of here are that you get mulch from a reputable source so you know it’s been properly aged. Mulch that is too fresh (or “green”) will potentially pull needed nitrogen from your soil as it undergoes the break-down process. Since the plants need the nitrogen, this can actually inhibit plant grown rather than promote it. Second, only opt for non-dyed mulch. There is no good reason to choose an unnatural color of mulch (eg red or black). Besides not looking natural, it introduces synthetic and potentially toxic dye substances into the soil.
Pine Bark - There isn’t the nitrogen-breakdown question with this option to the extent that there is with hardwood. Pine bark can be a little harder to find, and you want it ground to the point where you’re not seeing large chunks of bark. It adds organic matter to the soil similarly to hardwood, and an additional benefit is that it doesn’t tend to form a “crust” on the top during dry weather like hardwood, which can actually repel water and prevent it from reaching plant roots if not broken up.
Synthetic - just don’t. This does nothing for the health of your soil or plants, and once all those little rubber pieces have been invited in, you’ll never get rid of them.
FIVE | PLANT. This is the most fun bit. If you’re planning out a new bed, then certainly do this step before the mulch. Planting can also look like a refresh of containers and window boxes! Here’s my best advice on planting up a new bed: get some bamboo stakes (or flags, or any other kind of marker) and put stakes where you plan to put plants. This will help you visualize if you’re having trouble. You can measure between the stakes to get a concrete idea of spacing and to test out your guesses of how many plants to buy. It really is important to take note of mature sizes of plants. At first, a newly planted bed may look more empty than you’d like, but long-term you’ll save yourself a lot of pruning maintenance or removal caused by planting things too close or in the wrong spot. And here’s my best advice on adding seasonal color accents: Do it in concentration. What I mean is, focus your efforts on very specific areas. Rather than buying several flats of annuals and dotting them around, pick one or two spots and mass them for effect. Or focus exclusively on two containers on either side of the porch steps or near the front door. Providing focal points will make your money and plants work effectively. Spreading them out overmuch means you’ll notice nothing especially, and since summer color annuals usually need a bit of TLC like continual water and fertilizing, having one here and two there creates more work for you and ups the likelihood that they won’t thrive.
I hope that this gives some ideas of what we can all can do right now for free, and how to get the most return on whatever fun projects you decide to undertake during this time. Happy gardening and yard work, everyone! XO