Monthly Archives: March 2010

Mar 13 2010

Keep Trimming!

Time to trim last year's growth

 

Ready to clean up your evergreen perennials?  Take a look at these hellebores (lenten roses) in my yard.  Now is the time to prune your hellebores.  When the blooms emerge, last year’s growth will begin to lie flat on the ground.  These old, woody leaves are the ones to cut off so the new blooms and leaves can spread out and show their beauty.  Take a look at the “after”

Helleborus (lenten rose) after pruning

Another Helleborus, Lenten Rose, before pruning
Helleborus (lenten rose) after pruning

And an example of  a younger hellebore . . .

 

Mar 3 2010

Spring Haircut

 

Trim your liriope now!

It’s time for garden grooming!  Don’t forget to trim your monkey grass (liriope) so the new growth can push through this Spring! 

Trimming monkey grass:  I only have a little bit of liriope, so I trim it by hand and just cut it back to 2-3″ from the ground.  If you need to trim a lot of monkey grass, go ahead and use the weed eater and whack it all back.  Make sure you trim before the new growth has come in.  If you’re a little late trimming the monkey grass, just be careful not to cut the ends of the new growth off or you’ll be looking at jagged, ripped ends all season!