So Little Time, So Much To Plant!
Remember to use Mother’s Day as an easy-to-remember kick-off date for planting warm-weather crops like tomatoes in New Jersey. Once we’re there, get planting
Plant a butterfly garden! Butterflies need two important things in a garden to encourage healthy reproduction of the species: 1) Host plants, which their caterpillars need as food and 2) Nectar plants which the adults use for food. Many butterflies will appear and lay eggs on plants such as milkweed, parsley, and fennel by mid-summer, but you need to get those plants into your garden ahead of time. The perfect time to do this is in May and early June. For information on how to plant a Butterfly Garden or simply incorporate plants in your beds to welcome butteries, click here: https://mgofmc.org/butterfly-gardening-basics/. (Photo credit: “Oakland School Butterfly Garden” by Ronald Douglas Frazier is licensed under CC BY 2.0)
Prune spring-blooming shrubs, trees and other ornamentals after they are done flowering. This gives them maximum time to grow the new stems that will support next year’s blooms. (Photo credit: “Rhododendron” by Gertrud K. is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Do not cut back the foliage of spring-blooming bulbs until it has died back. The plant needs the leaves to use the sun to photosynthesize food for next year’s blooms. (Photo credit: “Tulips Everywhere” by John-Morgan is licensed under CC BY 2.0)
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