Hooray for springtime! The earth is bursting with new life as colourful blooms start to peek out in gardens and outdoor spaces all around us. This is the perfect time to embrace the season and start planting your very own flowers, herbs, or even veggies. So why not roll up your sleeves, grab your gardening tools, and join in the excitement of creating a beautiful garden of your own?
Here are a few ideas for things that are great to plant at this time. Let's dive in and get our hands dirty together!
Perennials
Get your perennials and other flowers from local farms like Two Birds One Stone Farm, Beneath the Boughs, and Herbal Hill Farm.
Violet (aka violas)
Violas prefer sun over shade, but they don't like heat. They love humusy, moist soil, such as a peat-based potting mix, and they need to be watered regularly.
Bleeding hearts
Bleeding hearts do best in partial shade. They prefer humus-rich, moist, well-draining soil with lots of organic matter. Bleeding hearts like lightly moist soil, so water when the top inch of soil has dried out.
Pulmonaria (aka Lungwort)
Lungwort is typically grown in partial sun to full shade. It prefers organically rich, humusy soil that remains moist, and it likes to be watered when the soil gets dry.
More perennials worth checking out:
Lily of the Valley
Solomon's seal
Forget-me-not
Edible Herbs
Get your herb seedlings, seeds, and transplants from local farms like Beneath the Boughs, Herbal Hill Farm, and Olde Furrow Farm.
Lemon Balm
Lemon balm loves a sunny spot. It prefers a slightly sandy, well-drained soil. (TIP: You can combine your regular soil with sand or a drier soil like a cactus mix to make it less dense). It should be watered in small quantities as soon as the first inch of soil in a pot has dried up.
Mint
Mint plants prefer partial shade. They can adapt to most soil types but prefer rich soil with good drainage. Maintaining lightly moist but not soggy soil is the ideal environment for mint.
Chives
Chives thrive in a full-sun location. To produce the best harvest, you'll want to plant chives in soil that is well-draining, rich, and moist. To achieve an impressive harvest, make sure chives are kept consistently moist throughout the growing season.
Vegetable Crops
Get your vegetable seeds and seedlings from local farms like Olde Furrow Farm, Beneath the Boughs and Herbal Hill Farm.
Spinach
Plant spinach where it will receive full sun or partial shade. It likes a loamy, organically rich, well-draining soil, and it needs to be watered frequently to keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy.
Peas
Peas prefer full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sun). They can grow in a variety of soil types as long as there is good drainage, and they should be watered with about an inch of water per week.
Here's some other plants to check out:
Rutabaga
Onion
Garlic
Turnip
Beet
Potato
Carrot
Pro-Tips :
Radish, peas, and lettuce can be seeded as soon as the soil is dry enough that a clod will easily break apart in your hand.
Keep a close eye on temps for the following weeks, especially if it is a full moon and a clear night!
Happy Planting!
