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Every home gardener knows the toughest times are between the seasons.  We have some great gardening tips to hopefully make it much easier for you to manage your garden transitions without frustration.  Whether you are coming from winter to spring, or summer into fall, these tips will help you to keep your garden looking amazing.

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Gardening Tips for Seasonal Transitions

I love practical gardening tips that help me maintain a beautiful garden.  Whether I am working in my vegetable garden with new seedlings in the summer, or picking the late fall pumpkins we have planted, I like being able to see thriving plants no matter the time of year.  Many people don’t consider the cooler temperatures of winter a time to garden, but I have found that with a bit of planning, you can easily have something that is beautiful even during transitional seasons.

Plant annuals and perennials.  One of the best gardening tips for seasonal transitions is to have something planted that will automatically come up each year with the seasonal changes.  I love having things like tulips, lilies, irises, daffodils, and other bulbs in my garden so when the weather begins changing I can expect those blooms even if I haven’t made it to the nursery to buy more flowers.

If you choose to plant annuals or perennials, make note of their location.  You can do this with a simple sketch of your garden that you keep on hand with your garden tools, or you can use some simple decorative markers that will remind you that you have bulbs in those areas that will be blooming in a different season.  This will help you know where you can plant other flowers between their growing seasons.

Keep mulch around your plants.  One thing that works wonders in flower gardens especially is to keep mulch around your plants.  Even when plants die at the end of a season, a nicely mulched garden will still look sharp.  Simply pull up the dead plants and spread the mulch to fill in the gaps until you have time to add more plants to the area.

I love the idea of using different colored mulch to create a more attractive garden.  By adding darker colors in some areas and lighter in others you can easily create a beautiful layout and theme.  Some even add pebbles or bleached stones to their flower beds to create a more attractive space that is versatile year round.

Harvest your garden as needed between seasons.  Instead of letting your summer vegetable garden wither and die on the vine, take the time to harvest as needed at the end of the season.  Go ahead and pull all of the dying plants and dispose of them, or use a lawn tractor or tiller to mow them down and turn them back into the earth to decompose and enrich the soil.

One thing you do need to remember, is those last few vegetables that may not have been picked in time, can be great for grabbing seeds out of for use the following year.  Even if the produce isn’t something you will cook or freeze, you can remove the seeds and dry them to provide yourself with free seeds for planting.  Then just add the vegetable scraps to your compost bin for natural compost to enrich the soil the next season.

Plant multi-seasonal items.  Some of the best gardening tips I learned from my grandma who often said the smart method was to plant items that would grow in different climates and temperatures.  She felt like that was a great way to take your garden from one season to the next.  She was famous for planting gourds and pumpkins toward the end of summer that kept the garden looking beautiful and then provided produce in the fall.  You can do the same thing with many vegetables, as well as flowers.  Some flowers are excellent choices for spring, summer, and fall.  By choosing items that will grow and flourish in multiple climates you can easily stretch your flowering garden well into the fall season.

Add more shrubs.  Shrubbery is a lifesaver in flower gardens.  From smaller shrubs that can be mixed in around the edge of your home and with your flowers, to larger shrubs to line your walkways or drive, shrubs are almost always a great option to keep your garden looking fresh year round.  In fact, many shrubs are also flowering plants that will produce beautiful blooms in one season, yet remain green and full of leaves throughout the next.

For lining an area, a holly bush is a great choice since it stays green year round.  It does grow very fast, so you will need to make sure you keep on top of trimming it and keeping it shaped.  It can easily overgrow and take over your garden.  Hydrangeas bloom seasonally, but remain a fairly sturdy shrub despite cooler temperatures.  With different color options, you can easily create a pattern that is lovely when in bloom.  Betula Golden Treasure is unique in it’s bright green leaves that flourish even in the winter moths.  It’s ideal for a smaller shrub around your home or within your flower beds.

These shrubs are perfect choices for adding color and life to your flower gardens despite the seasonal transitions.  When you always have something beautiful growing, you won’t ever have to worry about your garden being bare between seasons.

Add decorative pieces.  Things like decorative garden stones, a garden gnome, or even a fun fairy house can really keep your flower beds, or even your vegetable gardens looking sharp no matter the season.  This is a fun project kids can help you create and arrange, and is something you can change from season to season to reflect holidays, or leave up year round.  I also love the addition of solar lights in the garden to help add an edge and light for evening walks.

These gardening tips are just what you need to overcome that ugly transition period between seasons.  Whether you are working in your vegetable or floral garden, thinking outside the box with unique items to plant, will help you stay on top of the seasons with ease.

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