The sun is out and the days are warming up! There is a sure feeling that spring is in the air and the taste of summer and dining Al Fresco is not far from our thoughts.  St. Patrick’s Day is a key date in a gardener’s calendar to have certain jobs completed or to get out the door and dust off the winter cobwebs.  This is a good day to start making real plans for the garden, to get stuck in and tackle the long list of jobs, that’s if you haven’t already started.

Today would be a really good day to give your lawn its first cut of the year if you haven’t already tackled that job. It is very important that you don’t cut it too short. For the first grass cut of the year, raise the blades high as all you want to do is tidy up the grass and reduce the size of those woolly clumps that have grown faster than the rest of the lawn. I know it’s hard to resist cutting it short but if you cut the lawn too short this early in the year it will weaken the grass, encouraging moss growth and gives weeds a better chance at establishing themselves, eventually overtaking your lovely green lawn making more work further down the season. After the lawn is cut, take a little time to give the lawn a proper finish by framing it. Using an edging shears and half-moon remove any lawn growing over patios or edging bricks. To give the lawn a fresh edge along flower beds use the half-moon tool to cut out a small amount of lawn and soil to the same depth of the half moon, defining the lawn from the flower beds. Depending on the condition of your lawn it may be time to think about aeration, scarifying or adding lawn sand if there is a strong presence of moss and creeping buttercup. If the grass is looking very brown and struggling to compete with weeds, then it is time to give it a good feed with a slow release fertiliser/moss and weed killer granular or liquid fertiliser. If this all sounds like far too much work call us for a free no obligation quotation and you can enjoy the fruits of our labour!

Here are some other important jobs to do in the garden this March

·         Lift and divide clumps of overgrown perennials

·         Remove all weeds as they are actively growing again, dig flower beds using a folk for deep rooted perennials like                   dandelions and docks

·        Dig over soil to aerate the soil and give your flowerbeds a fresh new well-kept look and work in an organic fertiliser              like Chicken pellet manure or Fish blood and bone fertiliser

·        Power wash or clean patios, decking and pathways removing mosses, lichens and algae built up over the winter.

·        Plant summer flowering bulbs

·        Cut back spring flowering shrubs that have finished flowering

·        Finish planting bare root trees and hedging

·        Prepare seed pots and trays by disinfecting them, good hygiene is key to germination rates and prevent diseases                 and fungal infections.  Use fresh new seed and potting compost and follow instructions for each plant you wish to               sow. All plant seeds have different sowing requirements and to ensure optimum germination rates follow                               instructions! Sow tomatoes, summer salads and greens in containers on window still. Tomatoes can be slow to                     germinate but once they germinate they are very fast to get growing and well worth the effort

·       Plant shallots, onion sets and early potatoes

        Any questions, our help desk is open for answers at www.doylelandscapes.ie

                                                                              Happy Gardening!

There is an outstanding selection of ornamental grasses available to gardeners these days and with their graceful growing habit, long flowering and seasonal interest its easy to see why more and more gardeners are falling in love with ornamental grasses and the prairie style of planting

Ornamental grasses have increased in popularity over the last number of years due to their graceful beauty and easy maintenance playing an important role in design of landscape commercial projects and residential gardens. The size, colour, texture of foliage and flowers of a particular variety will determine its best use in a garden.

Ornamental grasses can provide good structure and calmness to the bold strong colours of perennial flowerbeds. Ornamental grasses fill spaces in flowerbeds with something that looks good and easy to care for and is low maintenance.  Grasses can extend the flowering day and season of the garden creating different tones of light at different times of the day and year. If planted in a sunny aspect when the sun light is reflected on their leaves and flowering panicles and plumes they become the highlight of the garden. In winter ornamental grass can become the sole focal point in a garden when all perennials have died back and deciduous plants have lost their leaves.  Morning time when frost sits on the panicles sunlight dances away and feather foliage sways in the breeze. The flowering panicles can also provide food for birds over winter.

There are many different ornamental grasses that tolerate a wide range of conditions, but most prefer a sunny position, moist, well-drained fertile soil. Grasses would be considered low maintenance, requiring very little fertiliser, one application of fertiliser in spring and cutting back and tidying up dead leaves. There are cool season grasses and warm season grasses. Here are a few to try:

Cool season grasses start growing in early spring and can sometimes remain evergreen over the winter. They have better foliage quality and require more watering during drought periods. Frequent division is required to keep the plant healthy and prevent die back and rot in the centre of the plant

Cool season grasses include Fescues, Autumn Moor Grass (Sesleria) and Blue Oat Grass (Helictotrichon), Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia) 

Whatever grasses you decide to plant this spring, remember that preparation of the site is key to establishing a good healthy plant.  Add quality organic granular fertiliser like Fish/blood/bone or farmyard manure when preparing the soil and water the plant well so it can establish itself in its new home.

If you require any further information or assistance please contact us on 012048020