DIY: Spring Cleaning for Your Garden & Lawn: Part 2

DIY 3 Minutes

10 Scrub those clay pots.

Clay pots get very dirty if they are left out over the winter. Now is the time to soak them so that they will be ready for the plants when the weather is warm enough for them to be planted.  

11 Cut back perennials

 Sometimes I do this in the fall, but more often, I leave this chore for the early spring, to keep some seed pods for winter birds. Perennials can be cut back almost to the ground level in most cases without hurting them at all.

12 Prune your roses

 In most cases, you will be pruning your roses just as the plant will be breaking the winter dormancy.  In warm climates, like NC, this will be fairly early in the year, just after the last frost.  Roses bear flowers on last year’s wood.  Trim off any old, dead canes. Be sure to prune so that the center of the bush is open for best air circulation.  

13 Remove dead wood

This goes for roses but also for other trees and shrubs too. Nothing will grow from dead wood, so get rid of it.  This goes for most suckers too. They sap the life from your plant and should be removed.

TIP:  If it is too early for you to prune shrubs, you can still inspect the plants. Take some ribbon with you and tie it where you want to prune once the weather warms up. So get out those garden gloves and your pruning shears and get rid of the dead wood. You’ll be glad you did come summer time.

14 Spring weeding

Even though I have it listed as #14, weeding is at the top of my list for early spring garden project. Weeding can the bane of my gardening life, if I let it be. Each year, I say that I am going to pull up weeds during the winter on warm days, and each year, I neglect this. But early spring is a good time to weed as long as the ground is not too wet, AND it’s the best time to do this job. The roots of the weeds are shallow and they will come out easily this time of the year.   This border that I planted late last summer looks as though it needs some TLC l right now, but those weeds will be out in less than a half hour and the bed will be beautiful.

15 Early spring Vegetables

Many vegetables thrive when planted in the early spring because they love the cooler weather. Some popular ones are English peas, broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts. Here in NC, these plants don’t do well in the summer at all, so early spring is when I have to plant them if I want to grow them.  See my list of cold hardy vegetables here.

16 Check your lawn edges

 Inspect plastic lawn edging to see if it needs replacing.  If you edge manually with trenches, now is a good time to tidy these up so the edges will be ready when the lawns start to grow. Doing it early means that the edges will only need cutting into soil, not into lawn that is encroaching into the borders.

17 Start seeds indoors

Get a head start on spring but planting seeds for flowers and vegetables indoors.  I have a large plant stand that sits outside during the spring and summer. During the winter, it sits in front of my glass sliders and gets southern sunlight. It is the perfect spot for my plant cuttings and seed starting efforts.

18 Divide perennials

One of my favorite early spring garden projects is to divide my perennials.  Early spring is the perfect time to divide perennials. Many of them really benefit from being divided for best growth. Either plant the divisions in another part of your garden, or share them with some of your plant loving friends.  

SOURCE: THEGARDENINGCOOK.COM

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140 thoughts on “DIY: Spring Cleaning for Your Garden & Lawn: Part 2”

  1. “Democrats Ready To Defend Department Of Education Just As Soon As They Figure Out What It Does”

    Politics · Mar 6, 2025 · BabylonBee.com

    Article Image

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — With reports circulating that President Donald Trump was preparing to sign an executive order to eliminate the much-debated federal agency, Democrats made it known that they were ready to defend the Department of Education just as soon as they figured out what it does.

    Sources on Capitol Hill said top Democrats held closed-door meetings Thursday morning to discuss the Department of Education in hopes of determining what it does and how they could possibly defend it against Trump’s quest to do away with it.

    “The president can’t possibly consider eliminating the Department of Education, because… of some very important things,” said Senator Chuck Schumer. “We shouldn’t have to explain why the Department of Education is so vital, or about the irreplaceable benefits it provides for the country. We don’t want to explain it. Please don’t ask us.”

    Other Democrats pointed to the necessity of keeping the agency alive so that it could find solutions to the problems it caused. “We need the Department of Education to look into fixing all of the issues that have been caused by the Department of Education,” said Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “These low test scores and rising illiteracy rates are the result of decades of failing by the Department of Education, which is why we need a Department of Education to turn things around.”

    At publishing time, Democrats had also warned that allowing individual states to set their own standards for public education could lead to a startling increase in children being better educated and becoming productive members of society.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. NF: I don’t understand the sexy part

    “Don’t miss the Sexy Moon tonight…Have you seen the Lunar X?”

    Taken by Jim Fakatselis on September 27, 2017 @ Peppermill Skies Observatory, Huntington, NY

    “Once a month, when the sun rises over Crater Werner in the Moon’s southern hemisphere, sunlight grazes the region’s high terrain and makes a criss-cross shape 50 miles wide. It’s the Moon’s own alpenglow. The “X” is due to appear today, Thursday, March 6th, around 18:25 CST…Sexy isn’t it?”

    Liked by 1 person

  5. MR52

    March 6, 2025 3:11 pm

    Sorry about the long post, but this is important.

    The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ruled that the Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE) violated federal law – the National Voter Registration Act, and unlawfully suppressed plaintiffs’ efforts to research anomalies within the state’s voter records.

    Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) sued Maryland’s SBE in January of 2024 on behalf of two citizen activists, Kate Sullivan and David Morsberger. Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Morsberger had been researching whether the state was removing non-residents, the deceased, and duplicate registrations from the voter rolls. Upon presenting their concerns to the SBE, the SBE issued a new regulation to stop them from conducting investigations. The SBE even assessed a criminal penalty for federally protected activities such as speaking with fellow voters, and blocked access to key information such as access and use of state records on voter history. The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) requires that states make voter history information available to the public.

    The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland delivered a resounding and complete victory in RITE’s favor. The court held that the SBE had violated federal law and endorsed RITE’s position that the NVRA requires that states make voter history information available to the public. This is the most direct ruling from any court in the country on that issue to date.

    The State Board of Elections has now lost two federal court cases in five years for not adhering to federal law via the NVRA.

    As National Committeewoman, I’ve enumerated my concerns that the SBE has been failing to properly maintain voter rolls and failing to safeguard the integrity of mail-in ballots in Maryland. But, the SBE impugned their motives when they sought to criminally punish activists who asked basic questions. This action further brought into question the SBE’s commitment to transparent and fair elections. RITE’s unequivocal federal court victory should inspire the SBE to adhere to the National Voter Registration Act in every aspect.

    Onward towards transparency,

    National Committeewoman
    Maryland Republican Party

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Just The News: “President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that delays the 25% tariff on some Canadian goods for one month, amid concern over the economic impact of the tariffs.

    The order comes the same day he announced that he would delay the 25% tariffs on Mexico for one month. The president said that he still plans to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on both countries on April 2, the Associated Press reported.

    “Most of the tariffs go on April the second,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “And then we have some temporary ones and small ones, relatively small, although it’s a lot of money having to do with Mexico and Canada.”

    The pause on the tariffs will impact auto imports and auto parts imports from Canada.” 

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Avatar

    Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump

    “The Golden Age of America has just begun! Over the past six weeks, our Administration has delivered on promises like no Administration before it, always putting America First! DOGE has been an incredible success, and now that we have my Cabinet in place, I have instructed the Secretaries and Leadership to work with DOGE on Cost Cutting measures and Staffing. As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go. We say the “scalpel” rather than the “hatchet.” The combination of them, Elon, DOGE, and other great people will be able to do things at a historic level.

    We just had a meeting with most of the Secretaries, Elon, and others, and it was a very positive one. It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people. We’re going to have these meetings every two weeks until that aspect of this very necessary job is done. The relationships between everybody in that room are extraordinary. They all want to get to the exact same place, which is, simply, to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

    Liked by 1 person

    1. EXCERPT: “This seems like it’s belaboring the obvious, but to the legacy media, it’s probably a big shock to learn that Elon Musk, as a “special government employee,” actually has no authority to fire federal employees. He can only evaluate the government’s payroll and make recommendations. 

      On Thursday, President Trump even went so far as to assemble his cabinet and make it very plain: You’re in charge of your departments.

      According to two administration officials, Trump told top members of his administration that Musk was empowered to make recommendations to the departments but not to issue unilateral decisions on staffing and policy. Musk was also in the room.

      The meeting followed a series of mass firings and threats to government workers from the billionaire Tesla founder, who helms the Department of Government Efficiency, that created broad uncertainty across the federal government and its workforce.

      Wasn’t that always the understanding? Elon Musk and the DOGE are advisors; they can’t fire people. 

      Trump posted about the meeting on Truth Social after this story posted, promising to hold similar meetings every two weeks.

      “As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go,” he wrote. “We say the ‘scalpel’ rather than the ‘hatchet.’ The combination of them, Elon, DOGE, and other great people will be able to do things at a historic level.”

      The timing of the meeting was influenced by recent comments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who said on CNN Tuesday that Cabinet secretaries should retain the full power to hire and fire, according to one official. The official said Trump has been flooded with similar concerns from other lawmakers and Cabinet secretaries.

      https://redstate.com/wardclark/2025/03/06/trump-tells-cabinet-they-not-elon-musk-have-hiringfiring-authority-n2186360

      Liked by 1 person

  18. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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