Photos by Hillary Ehlen and Sarah Liljestrand
It’s finally April, and we’re already dreaming about sweet summer nights spent tending our gardens. However, before we start dreading pulling weeds, there are a few steps we can take to prepare our trees, shrubs, vegetable gardens and flower beds for the season. We met with Sarah Liljestrand of Holland’s Landscaping & Garden Center to find out more about those steps. Now, you can use the following checklist to help create ideal growing conditions in your own yard.
Vegetable Garden
☐ Add Soil Conditioner
Flower Beds
☐ Cut back your old perennials and trim off any old flowers from last year.
☐ Add those cuttings to your compost pile or take them to your city’s recycling drop sites.
“If you have your own compost pile, you can add your cuttings to that, but all the cities have compost sites, so your yard waste is not just going into the garbage and becomes soil for someone else.” – Sarah Liljestrand
“We recommend not cutting those things back in the fall because we’ve been having winters with very little snow cover, and that old foliage protects the plant from the cold.” – Sarah Liljestrand
Trees & Shrubs
☐ Remove tree guards
☐ Remove tree supports if they’ve been on for more than a year
☐ Fertilize your trees and shrubs
“Early spring is a good time to fertilize, particularly with fruit trees.” – Sarah Liljestrand
Holland’s
1201 Center Ave. Moorhead
218-233-6131
