02/02-10 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information contact: Christine Kelleher, 800-232-9557, Ext. 512 or Gary Doerr, 916-716-1889 Jane Cigard is a freelance garden writer living in the Kansas City area. Formerly the editor of a landscape industry trade magazine, her articles have appeared in the Kansas City Star, Kansas City Magazine and other local and regional publications. Feel free to use this release in its entirety or in part, with or without the author's byline.

When your spring gardening plans call for preparing a new garden bed, it's important to do the job thoroughly to make the site the best it can be for the type of plants you want to grow. Depending on the location and size of garden, this may be fairly simple or a labor-intensive chore. You may need to remove existing turf, or clear away brush, weeds or debris. Without question, you'll need to include soil improvement in your preparations.

June Hutson, supervisor of the Kemper Center Home Demonstration Gardens at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, Mo., recommends having your soil tested whenever you start a new garden to determine the basic nutrient values and the pH of the soil. A soil test, which may be obtained from your local extension service as well as some nurseries, will give you specific guidelines for the types and amounts of amendments that your soil needs. However, Hutson readily acknowledges that many people bypass this step when a warm spring Saturday arrives and gardening fever ensues.

Whether you plan ahead or indulge spur-of-the-moment inspiration, adding generous amounts of organic matter to your garden beds is "always a good idea," Hutson says.

The generous and continued application of organic matter, not just when you first prepare the bed, but periodically throughout the garden season and over the years, helps improve soil texture, provide some nutrients and produce a suitable environment for soil microorganisms, which in turn make nitrogen and other elements available to plants.

"It's ideal if you can till (soil amendments) in at least 24 inches deep," Hutson says. "The best source is your own compost pile." If that isn't possible, bagged products are a good option, as are municipal or commercial compost suppliers.

Give careful consideration to the site where you choose to put your garden. How large should the area be? How much time and effort are you willing to spend in planting, weeding, mulching and caring for the plants throughout the season? Is the garden close to a water supply, and is there easy access for you to get into the bed to deadhead blooms, stake floppy plants and other occasional chores?

Don't be limited by the traditional rectangle when planning new garden beds. Evaluate the site for curves, changes in grade, and existing trees or shrubs that might provide desirable backdrops or accents. Finally, do not overlook the garden's exposure - sun or shade, wet or dry soil - in choosing a garden site.

When you are ready to prepare a new garden bed for planting, be sure that the soil is fairly dry before tilling or digging. Working soil that is too wet causes compaction and destroys soil structure. You should be able to form a handful of soil into a loose ball in your hand that will crumble apart easily. Soil that clumps into a hard wet ball is too wet to dig.

Most new plantings will benefit from incorporating 2 pounds of either superphosphate or bonemeal along with 2 pounds of a granular fertilizer (5-10-5, 5-10-10 or 10-10-10) into the top 6 inches over a 100-square-foot area. Choose healthy, vigorous plants, avoiding those with dry, pale, shriveled leaves or any sign of insects or disease. Don't worry if plants are not in flower. Perennials are generally sold before their normal flowering period and will flower later if they are planted and cared for properly.

Blooms of Bressingham, one of the world's leading companies in breeding and introducing flowering perennials, has several new varieties this spring that are well-adapted to Midwestern gardens. Look for these new flower stars at your local garden center.

Astilbe 'Sheila Haxton'
Once established, this Astilbe produces abundant spikes of large pink flowers atop mounds of deeply cut, dark green foliage edged with bronze. Hardy in USDA Zones 4 to 8, it grows about 12 inches tall and spreads to about 18 inches wide by the end of the first year.

Coreopsis 'Limerock Ruby'
Abundant, 1-1/2-inch daisy flowers are ruby red with yellow centers, supported by foliage similar to Coreopsis 'Moonbeam'. In full sun, 'Limerock Ruby' blooms all summer and well into the first, cooler days of autumn. Hardy in USDA Zones 4 to 9, 'Limerock Ruby' grows to a height of 18 to 22 inches and spreads to about three feet. This plant provides great red color on a compact plant that is ideal for the front of a sunny border.

Dianthus 'Pixie'
Dianthus 'Pixie' introduces repeated re-blooming from spring through fall to the perennial Cheddar Pinks. Hardy in USDA Zones 3 to 8, Dianthus 'Pixie' has 1- to 1-1/2-inch fringed, fragrant pink flowers over 12-inch mounds of blue foliage. With petals that are pink, splashed with deeper pink accents and a dark rose ring around the throat, 'Pixie' provides several shades of color with a longer period of flowering and more vigorous growth.

Heuchera 'Raspberry Ice'
Selected for its hardiness in harsh winters and dry summer shade, 'Raspberry Ice' produces numerous stems of pink and darker pink two-toned blooms. The eye-catching foliage is an intriguing blend of dark veins over a background of raspberry and frosty silver with burgundy undersides. The plant has an attractive mounding habit to about 12 inches tall (flowers to 24 inches), is hardy in USDA Zones 4 to 10 and flowers from late spring into August.

Heuchera 'Silver Lode'
The leaves of this striking new variety of Coral Bells are almost complete matte silver on the upper side, with the main veins outlined in dark bronze green. The undersides of the leaves are reddish purple. In late spring, long, sturdy burgundy wands with pink buds and white flowers with prominent yellow stamens rise 30 to 36 inches. The long flowering stalks are excellent for cutting and continue flowering from June into mid-July. Growth is vigorous, and 'Silver Lode' is hardy in USDA Zones 4 to 10.

 

Pictures available.