Master gardeners spill their tips and tricks: 5 ways to bring your garden back to life this spring

Cathy Lynch became a full-time gardener after she retired from her job as an accountant. She’s been a master gardener for 12 years and regularly volunteers with the Bartlett Arboretum in Stamford.

Diane Lampert is a master gardener with Bringing the Greenback, a garden and landscaping company that helps design and maintain “low maintenance and inspirational” gardens.

Both women participated in University of Connecticut’s master gardener program and now use their skills to bring life to people’s gardens.

These two master gardeners have offered up their tips and tricks for our readers to bring their yards back to life this spring.

1. Take your time

While it may be tempting to jump right to work when those first 50 and 60 degree days show up, Lynch said it’s better to wait until the weather becomes more stable, otherwise we might be killing some very important pollinators. If it’s 60 degrees during the day but then drops down to the 30s at night, those pollinators could freeze if we disturb their resting places.

“One of the things we need to understand is that during those cold months, our gardens which have leaves built up and debris from our fall flowers and everything that has been sitting there, and it is home to numerous pollinators, insects and whatnot,” Lynch said.

“If we open this up too soon, we will kill those animals that are so important in a garden and so much fun. I mean, who doesn’t love a butterfly or a dragonfly?”

2. Keep a diary

Lynch also said it’s important to keep records of how your garden changes over time. There are plenty of plant diaries out there, but she recommends also keeping a visual index of your plants by taking pictures on your phone. She organizes all the photos by date so that when she needs to pick new plants for the following season, she can see what she had there before and what she’d like to change.

3. Looking for equipment?

Start with plants.

Lampert said the most important tool in any gardener’s belt is just plants.

“The number one secret to weeds not coming back is that the first thing on your equipment list needs to be new plants,” Lampert said.

The plants you choose for your garden in the spring can actually help prepare the ground for whatever you plant in summer or fall. For example, Lampert says that now is the best time to start planting brussels sprouts, even if they don’t bloom until autumn. Carrots are another good food crop because they dig down into hard dirt and loosen it up, making it easier to plant other things there in the future. She also recommends growing dill, because it’s the number one host plant for swallowtail butterflies.

4. Go to gardening events

Lynch and Lampert both emphasized the importance of looking for resources whenever questions arrive. Garden tours can be a great way to interact with master gardeners and ask questions, and also see a physical representation of the kind of garden you want to grow. Lynch said master gardeners at the Bartlett Arboretum are always open to questions, whether by email or at the arboretum, when it is open.

5. Enjoy the process

Both gardeners said working in the garden is a time to connect with the world around you and have common ground with nature. Lynch said a garden is an ecosystem you design in your own backyard. The things you plant will affect your life in a positive way, whether that’s growing tomatoes to enjoy for dinner or planting flowers that attract beautiful butterflies.

“The garden is never finished. There’s no such thing as ‘I’ve done that, now the garden is done,’ because gardens change from year to year,” Lynch said.

“What was beautiful this year may have a tough winter and it’s not coming back, or maybe an insect got the best of it. So, we never hang up that shovel.”