Spring Garden Myths
February 28, 2024 · Uncategorized
After winter’s cold gloom, sunny days in early March can make us feel like spring is just a breath away. It’s hard not to want to start gardening after weeks of looking at bare trees and brown grass. But spring’s unpredictable weather can lead gardeners to premature exuberance, resulting in disappointment and regret under a foot of snow. Never fear, the horticulture team here at Butterfly Pavilion can help you survive these last few weeks before gardening season really starts.
Myth 1 – “Zero-scape” is the landscape of the future: Removing turf can be a great step for the environment, but landscape fabric covered by bare rock doesn’t help the planet much more. These landscapes still need maintenance while providing no food or shelter for pollinators and other wildlife. Without care, landscape fabric gets torn, weeds work their way through, and rocks get kicked away. But habitat gardens can significantly save water, provide beauty, and support our invertebrate neighbors. Our landscapes can be part of the solution instead of just another problem.
Myth 2 – Cut everything down in fall and winter: Many of us were raised to believe that “cleanliness is next to godliness”, but tidy landscapes are bereft of the life we want to cultivate. The “fall cleanup” of perennial gardens is a common practice, leaving gardens bare through the season when animals are looking for shelter. For pollinators and other beneficial species to survive winter, gardeners should leave last year’s growth in garden beds at least until new growth greens up in mid to late spring, unless a plant is diseased or poses a hazard. If you have spots where you can leave the old growth for longer into the summer, do that!
Myth 3 – To prep for your spring garden, till every year: The more we till the soil, the more we degrade the natural structure and encourage weed seed germination. We also disturb the habitat for some of our soil-dwelling beneficials; even pollinators such as some bees, moths, and beetles spend part of their lives as underground dwellers. If you’d like to amend your soil, try just top-dressing with about 2-3 inches of organic matter, which will foster the invertebrates and other living things that help to make the soil workable and easier to grow plants in. Sometimes it makes sense to till, but it’s not something you should do every year or in every situation.
Myth 4 – Spring means emptying your wallet at the garden center: “Window shopping” at a nursery can be a dangerous game if you are trying to stay within a budget. Everything looks so colorful as you walk the aisles; how can you resist? But decisions made in haste seldom result in long-lasting gardens. For a landscape that is sustainable for our environment, as well as our pocketbooks, it’s best to come prepared with a plan. Find out what does well with your soil, water, and light conditions. Phase your work over a longer time so you can take time to establish your new plant babies. And if you are short on money, but still want to grow some pollinator-friendly plants, species such as prairie coneflower, desert four o’clocks, and blue flax come up readily from seed.
Myth 5 – Plant your annuals on Mother’s Day: The average last frost date for much of the Denver metro area is around May 15. However, the average means that sometimes it’s earlier and sometimes it’s much later. It’s disappointing when you come home with your beautiful annuals, only to lose them to a spring freeze days later. If you can hold off until Memorial Day, the chances of freezing your annuals decreases significantly. And it never hurts to watch the weather and have a backup plan, such as covering your plants, if winter re-asserts itself.
Gardeners can do a lot to help reverse declines of pollinators and other wildlife, while saving resources and connecting with their communities. The myths discussed above are commonly held, but the truth is that you can save money, labor, and time by choosing native plants that thrive in your locale and support the animals that support our ecosystems and our livelihoods. While you don’t need to spend time tilling, planting or cutting things back right now, you can use this precious time to learn and prepare for a busy spring in the garden.
Written by Amy Yarger, Horticulture Director
Butterfly Pavilion has resources and upcoming programs about gardening just for you!
Pollinator gardening resources
March 10: Pollinator Gardening Bootcamp workshop: Plants for Pollinators
