Pushing Spring

It's been a long, hard winter for most of the country and everyone seems anxious for spring to arrive ASAP. Hard winter or not, we have a history of pushing spring at our house and because the winter has been so tough, I'm willing to share my pushing spring strategies with of all of you.....for free. That's right, it will be my gift to you. All you need is a little bit of open-mindedness and some optimism.

We start pushing spring by taking our lawn mower into the shop to get serviced early. Really early. This year the date will be March 8th. That way but we can beat the rush. The guys at the lawn mower shop probably take bets or have an office pool to see who can guess the exact date we show up with our mower.  Taking your lawn mower in early to be serviced is not only good planning, but I think it helps spring to get here sooner.  It might even make the grass grow faster. You skeptics out there should try it.**

Also on the list of things to do to push spring is to haul out most of our patio furniture in early March, just in case a 70 degree day comes along. If you think about it, that furniture can sit out on the deck and patio just as easy as it sits in the basement. Besides, the early putting out of patio furniture, combined with the early servicing of the lawn mower, increases the odds that spring will arrive sooner.  Again, if you are skeptical, just try it yourself and see. **

Pots of bulbs who want sunshine.

Pots that got sunshine

And if that wasn't enough, I am also planning on hauling the 20 pots planted with spring bulbs from the garage out to our deck on the weekend of March 8th.  Every December, I plant pots with tulips, daffodils, crocus and grape hyacinth and leave them in the garage to cook, I mean cool. By the first of March, they are crying to get out into the sunshine and spring to life, gracing our deck with a splash of spring color by early April. And did you know that spring bulbs are very competitive? That's right. When the bulbs in the pots on the deck start blooming, the bulbs planted in the garden below get agitated and try to catch up.

Cleaned-up garden

You can add early garden clean-up to your list of  pushing spring strategies. Last year, we had some warmer days in late February, around 50 degrees and I  managed to tear down 5 trash cans full of Sweet Autumn vine that covers our fence.  The 5 cans went out on the curb one  for the garbage guys to haul away. I put out 3 more cans of garden waste the next week after I just had to go out and start cleaning up the flower garden. You see, putting out your yard waste early also helps spring get here sooner.  But beware, the garbage guys might take umbrage with this strategy.  There has been years when we can hear the garbage guys muttering under their breath... wondering what would possess someone to put out garden waste so early. They are skeptics of my pushing spring strategies.

These are not illegal plants

One final strategy. In mid-March  I will get the seeds started and put under the grow lights in the basement again this year.  That, along with the earlier review of seed catalogs followed by a robust order of seeds for the vegetable garden, are sure to coax spring to arrive early.

So you can see that we have a well-conceived, multiple option strategy at our house, all intended to push spring. And of course, the results speak for themselves. Sort of. Alright, maybe I've exaggerated just a bit. 

Spring will get here soon enough, this I have learned. Being a gardener teaches you that Mother Nature runs on her own time.  And on her own terms. Like so many things in life, the more you try to control it, the less control you realize you have. Mother Nature wins every round.  She is undefeated. I keep trying to out wit her. But to no avail.

Look at it this way. Even if spring arrives later than you would like, when it does arrive, your mower is ready and your garden is clean. And while your neighbors are barely waking from their long winter naps, you'll be relaxing on your patio or deck.

** The above results are not typical and are based on the writer's overly developed sense of optimism. You assume full responsibility for pulled muscles, irritated garbage guys and periods of depression that may result as a result of spring not arriving early.