The sun is out, let's get ready for spring

By Ron Lazzer

How reliable is Wiarton Willie anyway?

He said six more weeks of winter but it feels like spring has already arrived. The longer days, the warmer weather and the bright sunshine lately has me, and hopefully you too, thinking about all the possibilities this year. Here are a few I’ve come up with.

1. Canada Blooms.

The unofficial start of spring. If you’ve never been, spend a few bucks and enjoy the day looking at all the inspiring gardens and constructed landscapes. You’ll lose your mind in there with all the things to see and consider. For those of us that are regulars we know it’s a great place to buy seeds and bulbs and to learn about so many outdoor living ideas that we keep coming back year after year.

2. Get your bike ready.

Although the ground is quite soggy now it won’t be long before bike riding season is in full swing. Tune up your bike by cleaning and oiling your chain, making sure the brakes work well and checking the tire pressures. March break is coming and the kids are going to need a good way to burn off energy if it’s warm enough outside. Besides Toronto has miles and miles and miles of bike paths that can be explored this year. Take the whole family out for a ride.

3. See nature up close and personal.

This is the time that birds will be coming back to our beautiful community and nature starts waking up. You can see buds forming on the trees as well as the beginnings of some early plant life. If you planted spring bulbs last year you might see them peek out of the ground in the next few weeks depending on how warm it gets. A word of warning though, be careful around rivers at this time of year.

They can swell up due to the melting snow and rain and can be very dangerous so keep your kids close to you and don’t let them near the water on their own.

4. Get a head start on gardening.

Rake up leaves as soon as possible to minimize the spread of plant diseases. Clean up your flower beds and start planting summer bulbs that will burst into colour in May and June. Also, this is a great time to spray your trees with dormant oil to protect them from infections. The dormant oil will prevent fungus from infiltrating the fresh buds and lead to healthier, stronger trees with more luscious leaves, fruits, and flowers.

I know it’s early but I can’t wait for spring and at the first opportunity I’ll be outside doing everything I can to help nature recover from the cold winter. Let’s all get outside as the weather warms up. Here’s to hoping the groundhog got it wrong. See you next month!

Ron Lazzer is the owner of Bellevue Landscaping. If you have any questions or comments please email them to Ron@BellevueLandscaping.ca