January

• Inspect houseplants for white flies, spider mites and aphids
• Inspect bulbs in storage. Discard bad ones
• Expand personal knowledge through library visits, courses, catalogues etc.
• Start planning your garden
• Try forcing amaryllis and paperwhite narcissus

February

• Prune shade and fruit trees.  Leave bleeders like maples and birches until after they have leaves.
• Visit your local nursery & greenhouse to see what’s coming in the spring.
• Check for dates of annual garden shows.

March

• Check & repair gardening tools
• Apply combination dormant spray to fruit trees and pest prone shrubs when non-freezing weather permits.
• Start forcing branches of spring-flowering shrubs and lily of the valley root pips after buds start to swell.
• Prune summer-flowering shrubs and vines.
• Loosen up packed winter mulch and press back heaved perennials.
• Plan to add a few native bird-attracting berry plants.

April

• Prepare garden beds for planting
• Dig in compost and other organic material
• Remove rose protection; prune and apply dormant spray before buds break
• Treat birches against leaf miner.
• Plant trees, shrubs, perennials and biennials.
• Seed cool-weather vegetables such as peas, spinach, lettuce, onions, and beets.
• Rake the lawn, repair damage and seed bare spots.
• Fertilize lawn with slow-release fertilizer
• Organize a compost pile