Massachusetts

Tips for Spring gardening

WAYLAND, Mass. — Spring is here and you can see signs of greenery blooming all around. With warmer temperatures on the way, it’s leaving some people ready to tackle their own gardens and yards.

“There’s so much fun, you can muck about the garden with,” said Tim Skehan, the CEO of Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland.

Cool-weather veggies and flowers like kale, pansies, broccoli, thyme, and parsley are fine to plant now. But tomatoes, basil, peppers, and marigolds should wait until at least after Mother’s Day or even Memorial Day. But part of that depends on where you live.

“Microclimates if you’re higher and inside 128 you can start putting out stuff sooner than we would even consider it,” said Skehan.

Those crisp cool nights where temperatures drop below freezing can harm some plants if they are planted too early.

“We’re in New England, we get snow regularly so10″ of snow is fine, it’s insulating. Nothing will freeze under snow,” said Skehan.

If you’re hoping to have some plants inside, those can be tricky too. When it comes to indoor plants, temperature, sunlight and humidity are all factors.

Take the Ficus plant for an example. It likes indirect sunlight and humidity but be careful of overwatering it.

Skehan says don’t be afraid to kill some plants in the process. “The reality is, gardening is a little experimental anyways.”