Getting gardens off to a great start

A 3.5 cubic bale of peat moss will help you get early spring gardens off to a great start. This is a totally organic products that adds texture and moisture retention to the soil. Apply a layer to cool weather plants and seeds before you plant or set them out. Peat moss will improve production of every vegetable that you sow or plant and a bale cost around $12 or $13. Peat moss has no harsh chemicals or additives and is a good builder of the soil that seeds and plants quickly respond to. Peat moss performs well on seeds, plants, and also in the flower garden.

Preparing for the arrival of hummingbirds

As we move later in April we can expect the arrival of the first hummingbirds of the season. There are not many flowers in bloom in early April, so clean up the hummingbird feeders and fill them about half way full of nectar. Keep a close eye on the feeders during the week to check how much they consume. Don’t waste nectar by filling the feeders up until you see how many are visiting the feeders. You can purchase nectar in liquid or powdered form that you mix with water or you can mix your own with half water and half sugar. Use half-gallon plastic milk cartons to store home-made nectar in. Refrigerate it and always shake before using. Replace nectar every week.

April showers add a fresh smell to spring

There is magic in an April-fresh dainty rain shower that generates a special fragrance to the nostrils and pleasure to the sense of smell. They are not only graceful as they fall, but we can see the grace of God in them. We surely hope all of April will be blessed with an abundance of fresh April showers and that we see a colorful display of umbrellas.

Making scalloped potatoes, peas, and cheddar cheese

Scalloped potatoes make any meal special and this recipe combines green peas and sharp cheddar cheese for some extra flavor. You will need eight potatoes, peeled and sliced in to quarter-inch slices, one eight-ounce pack of frozen green peas, one can Campbell’s cream of celery soup, eight-ounce bag of finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, half cup of milk, one envelope of Recipe Secrets beefy onion soup, half teaspoon salt, half teaspoon black pepper, half teaspoon paprika, half stick light margarine. Peel potatoes and slice into quarter inch slices, set aside. Combine celery soup, milk, salt, pepper, paprika, and Recipe Secrets beefy onion soup mix. Stir all ingredients together. spray a casserole dish with Pam baking spray. Arrange layers of sliced potatoes. Pour the soup mixture over the potato slices and sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese over the potatoes and soup mixture. Place another layer of potatoes, soup mixture, and cheese. Pat with dots of light margarine, shredded cheese and sprinkle a bit of paprika on top. Cover with a layer of foil. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour, uncover and bake for 20 minutes longer until potatoes are done.

April is season to start perennials

As April reaches the halfway mark, the time for planting perennials has arrived. Perennials are tough and provide some greenery in all the seasons of the year and require very little care. With perennials, there is life in every month of the year. April is the best month to plant perennials because there are so many that you can choose from. Most hardwares, garden centers and nurseries have huge selections to choose from. April is the month of opportunity for selecting all varieties of perennials and by planting now they will have months to establish themselves before winter arrives.

There is a great choice of perennials in many colors and varieties. You can choose from creeping phlox, diantus, Sweet William, Bugle weed, Coral Bells, American Bee Balm, Veronica, Forget-Me-Nots, Candy Tuft, Dusty Miller, Columbine, Red Hot Poker, Daphne, Sea Thrift, Hellabore, Creeping Jenny, Hen and chicks, and many others. Start perennials off in large and medium containers with a finely textured potting medium mixed with peat moss and Plant-Tone organic flower food and water them every week. Place them in a sunny location and keep them free of weeds.

The season of dusty yellow pollen

All during the next month or so, the yellow, fine particles of dusty pollen from one tree variety to another will be floating through the air. This dusty mist will cover the porch, driveway, vehicles and the lawns. Keep the leaf blower and broom close by to sweep the pollen from the porch and blow it from the driveway. The fine pollen dust can find its way into the doors of vehicle and stick to the windshield and can work its way under the hood and cover the engine with the yellow pollen, and also the dashboard. Use a dust cloth sprayed with Armor-All to wipe the dusty pollen from inside the vehicle and also wipe the engine. Use glass cleaner to clean it from the windshield and wipers. Keep the hose connected and blow and rinse the pollen from the vehicles each day as the season of pollen moves along. Blow around doorways to prevent tracking pollen into the house.

Robin eggs now hatching

Robin egg shells are scattered around the backyard and on the edge of the garden as the new generation of the young are in the nests. Robin’s eggs are the most unusual of bird eggs with their baby blue shells and speckles of light brown dots adorning each egg, making them true works of art. There is an old saying, “Never touch a robin’s egg or they will not come back to the nest.” If you see a nest with rosin eggs in it, peek in, but don’t touch or even get too close to the eggs just in case this old saying is true.

Nippy April nights can still bring frost

Although the last frost date is known as April 15, don’t be surprised to see frost at anytime all the way into early May. Tomato plants are available at garden centers, hardwares and seed shops. If you set out any, make sure you cover them at night in case frost comes. Wait until mid-May when the nights get warm and the soil also gets warmer. The tomatoes set out in May will catch up and pass the tomatoes set out at this time in April.

The dogwoods becoming snow-white

As we move toward mid-April the dogwoods are white with blooms and touched by April showers. We should be enjoying their blooms throughout the April and into early May when the petals begin to fall and tiny leaves begin to appear. The crowns of the dogwood blooms will develop into berries by the time autumn arrives. At this time of April when the white dogwoods are filled with blooms along the Piedmont roadsides flanked by the pastel pinks of the Judas trees, it becomes one of the most beautiful displays of early spring.

Will any April snow melt the heart?

April snow and September snow are both alike-a slight possibility but very rare. In the Johnny Mathis’ song, “The Twelfth of Never,” he sings that April snow will melt the heart. We have only seen one occurring snow in September and it was in the early morning hours of September 1967. On Reynolda Road in Winston-Salem, it was enough to snap a few limbs on the maples that still had leaves on them but nothing on the roads. Don’t get too excited about April or September snow because in both these months, snow is a rare event.

Feeding azaleas for a season of color

The azaleas are already greening up for a new season. Mid-April is the time to apply some liquid azalea food or organic azalea food to prepare them for a season of foliage and blooms. You can use Dr. Earth’s azalea food, Miracle-Gro liquid azalea food, or Flower-Tone organic flower food to jump-start azaleas.

Investing in a great flower potting medium

It will soon be the time to set out the summer annuals in pots and containers. The potting medium you use will determine the color and beauty of the annuals of summer. Purchase quality, fine textured potting mediums that contain no bark, sawdust or fillers but only rich mixes of soil with nutrients that produce in heat-related conditions. Bag brands like Sta-Green, Miracle-Gro, Jiffy-Feel the medium; if it is lumpy or dry, do not purchase it. Most quality mediums come in 25 pound bags.

Season of nesting in April

April is the season that birds are active building nests and searching for materials. Keep the birds in your area by keeping seed in the feeders and water in the birdbaths. By doing this, you will be inviting them to build a nest close to their food source.

Hoe hoe hoedown

“Sleepy Time Gal!” Out in the country, it’s sometimes custom to measure medications with whatever is handy. Not long ago, a small-town doctor met one of his patients on Main Street. “How’s your wife, Jack?” he asked. “Did you give her that sleeping powder as prescribed? Just as much as you could get on a quarter?” “Well, doctor,” answered Jack, “I didn’t have a quarter, so I gave her what I could get on five nickels. That was a week ago and she’s still asleep.”

“Lost, but don’t find!” A woman reported her missing husband to the police department. She described him to the police as “Short, bald-headed, wears false teeth, chews tobacco, and juice is always running down his chin...on second thought, officer...just forget the whole thing!”

“Custer’s Last Stand.” Who was the first man to wear an Arrow Shirt? General Custer!

“Kid Stuff.” Not only are children a comfort in old age, but they help you get there quicker!