Growing Concerns: Start planning now for vibrant spring garden

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Fall is here and I am well underway planning for next year. I have spent time wandering my garden making notes in my journal and taking pictures.

I make notes of things that did well, plants to be moved to a new location and where I think that location is going to be. I make notes on what plants are going to be donated to sales in the spring because I am tired of them or I have too many of them.

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I make notes on empty spaces where I might be able to add something new. I also make notes on colour combinations or plants that I do not like and how I might fix them.

In my planning, I can’t help but think about spring and what bulbs I want to plant now so that I might have an amazing show of colour in the spring.

I have pesky squirrels so when I think about planting bulbs I have to remember that they will dig up many of the bulbs and relocate them to new locations in someone else’s garden or maybe eat part of the bulb so it is no longer viable.

One thing that has worked well for me over the years are bulb cages. These are square or round cages made of plastic or wire. The cage prevents squirrels from digging up your bulbs. The bulbs grow through the gaps in the cage. I use these to protect my crocuses and tulips which are  squirrel favourites.

You can also buy squirrel-proof bulb netting online. You plant bulbs and then add this netting on tops of the soil with U shaped anchors to hold it in place. Some gardeners will remove it in the spring and others will leave it in place.

Denise Hodgins is a professional gardening coach in London. Send your questions to coaching@diggendirtdesigns.com

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