Yarden” (Yard + Garden) Notes for March 2017

Sponsored by Thomasville Garden Club Inc.

March weather

Because we have had such a warm winter, people fear that we will have a killing frost before spring is firmly established. The question arises almost daily, “Do you think we’ll have another frost before/on Easter?” Well, it is possible that we will have another frost before Easter but, if we do, it is more likely to be this month, not next. Even so, it might not be a hard frost.

Easter 2017 is on April 16, about a month beyond our latest frost date, which is mid-March, according to David Marshall (who is one of my favorite “resources”). Most frost date websites agree that March 15 is the average date for our last frost. But I did find two websites with different opinions: the Frost Dates Calculator at www.almanac.com states March 3 as Thomasville’s “likely” last spring frost (50 percent probability). March 3 was Friday, the day before yesterday. Www.plantmaps.com gives March 21-31 as the range in which we experience our average last frost. All calculations deny frost on or around Easter Sunday this year. However, these predictions do not mean that frost is impossible at that date; it is just highly improbable.

Special March dates

Sunday, March 12 — Daylight Saving Time begins at 2 a.m. Be sure to turn your clocks forward one hour before going to bed on Saturday, March 11. (Remember the old adage: ‘Spring forward; fall back.’) This is also the time to replace the batteries in your smoke detectors.

Monday, March 13 — National Wildlife Week. You might be interested to know that some of the mammals indigenous to the United States include the pronghorn antelope, American bison, prairie chicken, eastern cottontail, plains coyote, white-tailed deer, swift foxes, black-tailed jackrabbit, muskrat, opossum, black-tailed prairie dog, raccoon, wild turkey, Franklin’s ground squirrel and several other species of ground squirrels.

March 11 (or 18) and Sept. 26 — Johnny Appleseed Day. Why three dates? John Chapman was born on Sept. 26, 1774; it is believed he died on March 11, 1845, but since this date was not formally recorded, it is disputed. Chapman spent more than 50 years traveling and introducing apple trees to large parts of Ohio (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio), Indiana (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana) and Illinois (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois). He became an American legend  (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklore_of_the_United_States) while still alive, largely because of his kind and generous ways. He is considered one of our first great leaders in conservation (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_movement).

Monday, March 20 — the first day of spring (the Spring or Vernal Equinox). Of course, many of us feel that we have not had a proper winter and that it is already spring. The equinox begins in our specific area of the world at 6:29 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Wednesday, March 22 — World Water Day. In 1992, the United Nations General Assembly designated March 22 to be celebrated annually to highlight the need to advocate for sustaining and conserving fresh water world-wide. We tend to think of water as a limitless natural resource when, actually, it is scarce and in jeopardy. Its supply is diminishing relentlessly as the world’s population and development encroach upon nature. Also, if you look around, you will see senseless waste in the use of water. All of us can be more mindful about using water wisely.

Friday, March 17 — “Hummingbird Homecoming.” I learned this expression from Sharon Chastain, who owned Oak Grove Nurseries here for a long time. It is easy to remember when hummers return to our area: it is on or about St. Patrick’s Day. Welcome these fantastic creatures back with clean feeders.

Birdsong Nature Center’s Old-Timey Plant Sale

On Saturday, March 18, Birdsong Nature Center’s annual Old-Timey Plant Sale will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Birdsong is located at 2160 Meridian Rd., in Grady County. Admission is free.

The sale offers a varied and extensive collection of beloved old garden flowers, native plants, herbs and heirloom tomatoes, and plants for butterflies and hummingbirds. Some of the best botanists and horticulturists in our area have donated plants from their own gardens and will be working at the sale to help you make good choices. Lunch will be available for purchase, or bring a picnic. Take a walk to the screened Listening Place at the edge of The Big Bay Swamp; enjoy the magnificent Bird Window in the house; visit the gift shop. Relish a beautiful spring day in the country.

For more information call (229) 377-4408 or 1 (800) 953-BIRD or email birdsong@birdsongnaturecenter.org.

Today’s photos are of plants from past Birdsong plant sales. They were sent to me by June White.

In bloom

So many plants that we look for this month are already in flower: Azaleas and native azaleas, Carolina Jessamine (often mispronounced ‘jasmine,’), daffodils and flowering fruit trees, among others. Dogwoods, the favorite of many, will soon follow suit.

To do

Planting — Continue planting shrubs, trees and flowers. Planting in early spring helps plants establish themselves and enable them to withstand summer’s heat stress. Around March 11, begin monitoring weather reports to ensure that the threat of frost is past; then you may transplant tomatoes, peppers and eggplants into the ground. Seeds of sunflowers and summer vegetables such as beans, cowpeas, corn, squashes, pumpkins, cucumbers, watermelons and gourds may be planted directly into the ground around March 15 because the temperature of the soil should be about 60 degrees F by then.

Pruning — Remove dead and unsightly limbs and reshape landscape plants. Pruning is necessary for good health. It removes disease, promotes attractive plants and can often rejuvenate older, overgrown shrubs. When you cut, do so at a slant, slightly above the bud, permitting water to roll off the newly-cut surface. Make the bottom of the plant larger than the top while pruning, creating a pyramid shape (▲); otherwise, you will have a canopy effect that will restrict the amount of light to the lower branches. [Almost everywhere I look, I see bushes and shrubs cut incorrectly into inverse pyramids (▼).] Be certain to wait until spring-blooming camellias and azaleas have finished blooming before pruning them.

Fertilization — Fertilize trees and shrubs early this month, if needed. Begin monthly fertilization of roses, perennials and newly planted annuals. Houseplants need fertilization as soon as they begin to set new growth.

March quote

“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.”  — Frank Lloyd Wright, 1867-1959, American architect, interior designer, writer, and educator.

Pat Pankey writes this column for Thomasville Garden Club Inc. as a service to the community. Thomasville Garden Club Inc. welcomes new members. If you are interested, please contact Membership Chair Karen Wilks at 226-0312 or any current member. The Garden Center has a library of books about gardening which are available not only to garden club members but to the general public. To access the library or to visit the Garden Center, please contact Julia Singletary at 226-5291 (the Garden Center telephone number) or any current member. You may contact Carla Inman at (229) 403-6048 if you are interested in renting the Garden Center for an event. The Garden Center is always open to the public on the Wednesday before the first Friday of every month, September through May. Please visit our website at http://www.thomasvillegardenclub.org.