Expert shares info on how to get blooms all season long
Kerry Ann Mendez, garden writer for Life@home magazine, discusses perennials at the May 1 garden seminar at The Gardener's Center and Florist in Darien.
Kerry Ann Mendez is a self-described “passionate perennialist,” and she was happy to spread that passion at Life@home’s May 1 seminar at The Gardener’s Center and Florist of Darien. Mendez is an acclaimed garden consultant, designer, writer and teacher.
The root of a good garden, she says, is the quality of the soil. “What do you think of when you think of mulch?” she asked the crowd of more than 100 attendees. “You’re probably thinking wood chips!” Several members of the crowd murmured in agreement.
The types of mulch you use, however, can vary considerably, Mendez says, from horse manure to mushrooms to seaweed for coastal plots. And you don’t need that much: just one cubic yard per 100 square feet should do the trick. More fertilizer is not always better! The best time to mulch, she adds, is spring.
…just kidding, Dear…