Horticultural and Design Tips
Hort Hints for April 2019
Start the month by removing old mulch and any evergreen branches from your perennial beds —but stay out of the beds so you don’t compact the soil. Hold off adding new mulch for a week to allow the soil to warm up. Remove now, by hand, any weeds that wintered over before they get stronger. 
When lawns have dried, remove any debris by raking lawns with a spring-tined rake. Avoid the temptation (and the ads) to apply fertilizer or grass seed. Fertilizing and seeding are best done in the fall when the grass is not competing with annual weeds. New England lawns do well without a spring fertilization, but a thin (1/4 inch) top-dressing with compost will do wonders for it by adding beneficial soil organisms.…
Grouped Mass Design Workshop
Some of the many benefits of membership in the Framingham Garden Club are the hands-on floral design workshops presented by the club’s master designers several times a year. In October 2018 we focused on “Grouped Mass Design.” Grouped Mass Design features groups, or clusters, of like flowers or other plant material placed next to groups of different like materials, all emanating from one point of emergence.
Here are two examples designed by FGC’s own experts, Minal Akkad, Ruth Evans and Marion Goodman.
Notice the clusters of plant material placed next to other clusters.
Design tip: place wet Oasis one inch above the top of the container. …
There is Beauty in Pruning…….
We prune plants to make them more beautiful, to encourage flowering, and to help them grow strong and healthy. Some trees and shrubs need never be pruned while others require a seasonal cutting.
Light pruning for health
Nearly all woody plants develop little problems that can lead to big diseases or unwanted growth. Careful cuts throughout the year go a long way to ensure healthier plants. Keep a quality pair of clippers in your back pocket while in the garden so you can correct these unhealthy conditions with a kindly cut.
Remove any part of the plant that looks diseased before it can spread.…
