Much of the gardening information and seasonal tips that apply to Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens can also help your own garden thrive. If you have any horticultural subjects you’d like us to cover, e-mail bfreeman@mainegardens.org.

Horticulture 101
Spring is the time of year in New England when we learn whether the “winterizing” we did to bring our gardens through the coldest months was successful. Although we have tried to choose “safe” varieties of roses, we prepared them for winter by putting a 12-18-inch mound of mulch up and around the base of each plant. That was purposely done only after we had a hard freeze.

We put boughs of spruce over our lavender plants to help give them a little insulation and keep the deer from finding them, and we sprayed the rhododendrons in our collection with a product to keep winter weather, particularly the cold wind, from dessicating (drying out) the leaves.

Don’t be too hasty in uncovering your plants in the spring. Surprise frosts can undo any of the good your efforts to protect them provided over the winter.

In addition, pay attention to the Hardiness Zone Map when preparing to garden in the spring. For a head start on the season – and to relieve that common malady, spring fever – it’s sometimes worth the risk to jump the gun and plant inexpensive annuals earlier than recommended. However, you might want to save the more tender or expensive specimens till the last-frost date has passed.