CLEAN UP DAY

Today was the first clean up day.  Every spring and fall the Master Gardeners join up as a group to take on the garden. Cleaning up consists of  pruning, planting, weeding, transplanting, adding compost, mulching, raking leaves,  and planning what to do next.






It is so nice to have others to bounce ideas off of, and most importantly,  to learn from more experienced gardeners.  And, as the saying goes, Many hands make light work.

We are always planning ahead

Today the first vegetable was planted - ASPARAGUS!   This is a perennial plant, it will come back every year.   The bed was prepared with lots of compost.  Two  trenches were dug and the plants placed  15 - 18 inches apart.

In the Children's Garden - perennials were planted as well.   3  Sweet Ferns  (Comptonia) were planted.   This is a native deciduous shrub, not a fern.

Comptonia smells very sweet.

Lots of activity in the hedgerow.  Shrubs were taken out and placed in other areas to make a little more room.  Over the years the bed has done what is was supposed to do - grow and multiply!   It was time to thin a little.  In the future, the same will be done for the emerging perennials.

The fruit area is growing exponentially,  more berries were added.  The persimmon  and elderberry trees by the paw paw patch will be moved in the near future as well.
  

   



The Native Garden received some plants from the Hedgerow.  Switch Grass, Winterberry shrub and a Pagoda Dogwood.

Pagoda Dogwood

Switch Grass - doesn't look like much yet.  Just wait!

Just before noon it was a searing  48 degrees.   But as always, the coffee and donuts were  a huge help.




The next clean up day is next Saturday,  March 17.  See you there.

University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener and other programs are open to all citizens without regard to race, color, gender, disability, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, or national origin.