News Filed Under Lawn and Garden

This week marks the official beginning of meteorological spring, and that means it’s time to start getting our gardens and landscapes ready for the coming year. One of the first tasks may be to get your containers ready, as more and more home gardeners are becoming interested in the joys of growing plants in containers.

With spring right around the corner, many people have gardening on their minds again. To get your gardening fix, start seeds indoors for spring planting now! Have you tried egg cartons to get your plants started instead of purchasing seedling trays?  There are many benefits to trying this alternative container instead.

My wife, Katie, and I just spent a long weekend in central Florida -- Mount Dora to be exact -- for much needed rest and relaxation. I also did a radio interview for the new Southern Gardening book, but more on that later. I love travelling and visiting places that are in a different growing zone from my own.

On this bright, sunny morning, even though it was 30 when I got out of bed, I know for a fact that spring is almost here. That means it’s time to get serious about what I’m going to plant in my home garden and landscape this year.

Roses are wildly popular flowers – both for planting in your yard and for gifting to a special someone. Native to the northern hemisphere, roses come in a variety of different colors and types. With over 50 different rose cultivars that grow well in Mississippi, there’s a rose that is sure to meet all your needs and preferences. 

As I sit at my desk on a cold winter morning, I realize that saying “it’s cold” is completely subjective; I also know that spring isn’t far away. There are 41 days to astronomical spring, but meteorological spring is so much better, being only 22 days away. There’s one gardening activity I enjoy at this time of year that beats the wintry mixes, and that is starting the seeds for my garden and landscape.

Pat Scace, floral display supervisor at the Missouri Botanical Garden will give a lecture on March 21 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and Extension Center. It will conclude with a recognition ceremony for the newest group of certified MSU Extension Service Master Floral Designers. Deadline to register is March 14.

Are you updating your existing landscape or planting a brand new one this season? You may want to consider crape myrtles.

Although daffodils are starting to show their tops through the bare ground, watching them emerge does not give gardeners much to do during the winter months.

But this time spent waiting for spring’s arrival is the perfect opportunity to get ready for the growing season. A project every gardener will benefit from is building a raised bed.

A raised bed is simply a landscape or garden bed that is higher than the surrounding grade. These beds are useful for both vegetables and flowers.

If there’s one thing we southerners love, it’s our backyard birds. There’s something enjoyable about watching birds fly around and chirp with each other in the yard. However, as brutal as the winter months can be to us, it can be even more challenging to our feathered friends. Many trees and shrubs become bare during the cold weather, eliminating their primary sources of shelter and food. To help provide food, water, and shelter to your backyard buddies, consider creating a welcoming habitat that will prepare them for cold weather.

If you’re the kind of gardener who has something fresh from the backyard on the table almost every day of summer, January meals can seem a little dreary. One way to keep fresh home produce on your plate all winter long is by growing microgreens. It does not take a lot of effort or space, and the colorful and tasty results can have a big impact at mealtime.

Early in the gardening year is the best time to tackle some gardening tasks before we go all-in planting our color and vegetables. Mulching your landscape beds should be at the top of that spring checklist.

When, how, and if you should prune depends on the type of plant or tree you have and your goal for the plant. Check out this calendar for some of the pruning chores ideal for January through April in Mississippi.

I follow a checklist for many of the plants I consider using in my coastal Ocean Springs garden and landscape each year. The plants need to thrive in heat and humidity, be drought tolerant and not need much garden supervision. In other words, plants in my yard have got to be tough. 

The new year offers a new opportunity for garden enthusiasts who want to hone their craft and give back to their communities. The Mississippi State University Extension Service is offering the Master Gardener training and certification online again this year.

January and February often bring harsh winter temperatures to us in Mississippi. Sometimes cold snaps even come in March and early April! One sudden drop in the temperature can unfortunately damage many of your tender landscape plants. Make sure the freezing temperatures do not harm your plants by taking a few preventative measures: 

As I was thinking over the holidays about how my 2022 home garden will look, I was still harvesting heirloom tomatoes and various peppers from my 2021 garden. Can you imagine collecting fresh tomatoes and peppers on Christmas Day, let alone on New Year’s Day?

But that all came to an end when temperatures dropped on Sunday from 78 to 35 with a 27-degree wind chill. Now, I can get back to my 2022 garden planning.