Spring Peepers
- birdsnestnatives
- Mar 20
- 1 min read
Everything about spring urges us to wake up and pay attention. I am eager to put a long, cold winter behind me and awaken my senses to spring. When you step outside, it is impossible not to feel the warmth of the sun and hear the symphony of birdsong. Our native spring flowers are also beginning to peep out, and their foliage is visually spectacular. It is hard not to delight in the lacey foliage of Dutchman's breeches, one of our common spring ephemerals. Columbine leaves look like little roses opening up, and the Jacob's ladder foliage is multi-layered and angled just perfectly.
So while you are out cleaning up your garden, take time to feast your senses. Remember to be gentle with your spring garden. Some of the things I like to do these early days of spring are the following:
Remove sticks and deadfall.
Gently weed my garden beds. I save my dandelion greens to cook up and compost the wild garlic, hairy bittercress, and speedwell. Of course any invasive Japanese honeysuckle and garlic mustard is also removed. Here is a great guide to identifying spring weeds https://extension.umd.edu/resource/spring-weeds/
Carefully cut back tall stems. I try to leave any broken hollow stems that might be homes for our native bees until late April.
Divide large perennials. Asters, bee balm, coral bells, foam flower, tickseed, yarrow, spiderwort, and tall phlox can all be divided in early spring every 2-3 years.
I have posted my spring plants sales on my website. I hope to see you soon!
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