LIFESTYLE
A Southern Gentleman Is...
...all about the Lawn & Garden BY TIM KEARNS
April showers bring May flowers...or so we’re told. Springtime means kicking the mower into gear - oil change, sharpen blade, tune-up and getting back out in the yard. By now, the preemergent has been applied on the grass and beds to help keep the weeds at bay for the next six months or so. Depending on the type of grass you have, the work may have already begun (i.e., fescue), or for the warm season turf (Bermuda, Centipede or Zoysia), the grass doesn’t start turning green until the soil temperatures get into the mid fifties. For those of us who planted tulips last fall, you’ve seen them come and go already. But we have had a tricky spring this year where unexpected frosty mornings required us to cover the flower bed in the evening and uncover again in the mornings...over and over and over! Everyone waits for the magical last frost date. And I think... spring is truly finally here! Now you should have plenty of nice days to get a head start on whatever your plans might be. Given the current environment and all the things happening that are out of our control, it may be a great time to start that backyard garden you’ve always talked about. Obviously being healthy is critical, not just because of the threat of public illness, but it should be the lifestyle you want for you and your family! Having access to your own vegetables, grown by your own hand, picked fresh for a family meal is a way of life we have enjoyed for a few years. One weekend, I had just taken down some hemlock’s that bit the dust, leaving a large space with full sun right outside our kitchen window. On a whim, Bess and I drove to a local supply store and bought some treated 2 x 6 boards, soil, fertilizer and vegetable plants. After about three hours of work, we were 60 SPRING 2020