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As a pilot would not take off without a check list neither should a garden start without a calendar check list.
In the early spring once the April showers go then rake up your lawn and get it ready for re-seeding any brown patches or areas that need replacement. Rake out any stray twigs or branches that have fallen from your trees and clean up any winter debris that has piled up on your lawn or in your gullies and trenches.
If you need to re-seeding any damaged parts of your lawn then scratch the soil first with a rake. Get a couple of bags of top soil from your local garden center if needed and take a big bucket putting a shovel full of soil with a couple of handful of good grass seed and spread it around by hand in whatever patch you are re-seeding. Re-rake again and gently water well and put some straw on top of the newly seeded patches. Keep watering well until the seeds germinate and the new grass comes up through the straw.
If your trees have had winter protection with burlap and tree guards then this is the time to remove them as it is not good to leave tree guards on young trees and shrubs over the summer as the rabbits and mice only do their nibbling on bark in the winter. Leaving the guards on will prevent the necessary air movement a tree or shrub needs and can also create rot of the bark.
If you are thinking of transplanting shrubs this is the time to do it before the bud out.
Check all your gardening equipment including your lawn mower and have your blades sharpened in the event you did not have it down when you had your mower winterized in the late fall.
Once you are sure there will be no more frosts then you can remove your mulch from shrubs and plants such as lavender and if the winter frosts have heaved any perennials out of the ground then replace them as they will probably not come back even if you try to replant them.
Prune your roses before they start to bud and remove any winter protection you might have had on them such as mounded dirt etc.
Once you can pick up a handful of dirt and have it crumple in your hand then it is time to work your flower beds, not before, so be patient.
While the ground is wet from the spring rains is a great time to do a great deal of weeding.
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/
To see Arlene’s Gardens and to read her gardening diaries and to take a walk through her pictorial garden or click on Arlene’s Books where you can download or buy her gardening & cook books, including her new book, “The ABC’s of Wine and Beer Making”. Remember to check out her artwork, especially of her fruits and vegetables. Arlene says, “All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and I thank you for visiting my site.”
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