Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,

Crystal Rennicke

Spring is just around the corner and soon you’ll be seeing your spring bulbs poking through the ground. While you may want to get digging in the dirt, remember to prioritize by looking at our regional checklists.

With a newborn at home, I’m especially realizing the importance of being thrifty. I’m sure you are, too. That’s why I’m excited about a new product from Birds & Blooms. It’s called the Thrifty Gardener and it is packed with useful tips and tricks for getting the most out of your garden from readers like you! Look for it on newsstands in your area.

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, please use this link to sign up for yourself.

Happy Gardening!
--Crystal

READ ON TO DISCOVER...

• Plant of the Month
• Yard Smarts
• March Regional Checklist
• Frugal Gardener Tip of the Month
• Question of the Month
• Submit Your Story

Plant of the Month

Floribunda Rose ‘Mardi Gras’
All-America Rose Selections Winner
Botanical name: Rosa ‘Mardi Gras’.
Hardiness: Zones 5 to 9.
Size: Up to 4 feet high; 3 to 4 feet wide.
Growing advice: Full sun is key to abundant flowers.
Featuring: High-quality color and plentiful, elegant flowers on a shrubby plant.
Pretty pairings: Its multicolored blossoms pair well with roses of complementary hues. In a cottage-garden setting, it would mingle well with spiky purple or blue flowers, such as Russian sage or caryopteris.

Click here for more information and how to order.

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Yard Smarts

Budget-Wise Rain Barrels
This year, I plan to use rain barrels in my landscape. They connect to the downspout on my gutters and have hose connections that allow simple access to water. It’s a great way to conserve water and decrease my ever-rising utility bill.  –Juanita Easton, Sterling, Virginia

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March Regional Checklist

When spring arrives, both gardeners and their plants are eager to spring into action. But avoid doing everything at once in your enthusiasm. It’s better for you, and your garden, when you prioritize.

• Northeast
• Northwest
• Southwest
• Central
• Southeast

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Frugal Gardener Tip of the Month

Ban the Burn
After spending months babying my new seedlings, I would get discouraged if the sun burned them as they hardened off. So I began covering my young plants with some old pots during the hottest time of the day. Once they grew a new set of leaves, they were able to handle the sun on their own, and the pots returned back to the basement. –Amanda Kennedy, Columbia Cross Roads, Pennsylvania

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Question of the Month

Failure to Bloom
Q: I planted daffodils 3 years ago, but last spring, I noticed only foliage—no flowers. What’s wrong? –Zoe Golladay, Charlottesville, Virginia

Melinda: One or several factors may be preventing your daffodils from blooming. Always leave the foliage on daffodils and other spring-flowering bulbs as long as possible. These leaves produce the energy needed for next year’s flowers.

Proper planting depth is also important. It insulates the bulbs from cold winter temperatures (where needed) and hot summer temperatures. Shallowly planted bulbs that are subjected to high soil temperatures may fail to bloom the following spring. A layer of organic mulch on the soil will help moderate temperature extremes and help reduce the risk of damage.

Unexpected late-spring frosts may kill flowers on early-blooming daffodils. Hot and windy weather may also interfere with flowering. The immature daffodil buds are easy to overlook, so you may not have realized that they were damaged.

Lastly, as plantings mature and bulbs multiply, a failure to bloom may be due to overcrowding. Dig and divide the bulbs in fall to correct this problem.

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Step Back to the Victory Era!

The editors of Reminisce magazine bring you Reminisce Through the Decades: The 1940s, a 6-hour-plus, three-DVD set of real-life stories from the ’40s! For more information, go to www.reminisce.com.

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