Goodbye Winter

Early this month, on a frosty morning, I was amazed at the beauty of my winter garden. Now this week, with the temperatures rising, we're in the mud season and all of us are thinking about spring and our once again new gardens. Native gardens are year-round gardens, moving through the seasons and helping us stay rooted in nature.

This spring, go slow with your garden clean up. Waiting allows beneficial insects and pollinators that overwinter in hollow stems and leaf litter to emerge. A good sign to start clean up is after a week of consistently warm temperatures where you see native bees. In late winter and early spring you can prune your shrubs and remove fallen branches from your garden. These sticks and branches are perfect for a firepit or to add to your dead hedge. A great dead-hedge was created by Shepherdstown Bee City at the new Morgan's Grove pollinator garden. Volunteers are needed this spring for the second phase of planting.

Another job I start in late winter is early weeding. Again, go slow, and make sure you are removing weeds and not baby seedlings. Columbine, violets, bee balm, and other natives are starting to sprout alongside our annual weeds. Use your identification apps to make sure you know your weeds, then focus on removing all of that weed from your garden.

My spring plant sales are now posted on the website and begin in April. I sell "straight natives" as well as a selection of nativars, cultivars, and near-natives that grow well in our area and are suited to gardens. In addition to growing and propagating plants, I purchase plants and plugs for resale from North Creek Nurseries and Cavano's Perennials. If you are looking for specific native plants please email me at birdsnestnatives@gmail.com