Accidental Cottager Garden – Extension Master Gardener Volunteers of Durham County

Gary CrispellBy Gary Crispell, NC State Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteer of Durham County

Aka: GARY’S GARULOUS GARDENING GUIDE

Well…what can we say about March 2026 except that it was consistently inconsistent. Although, within the inconsistency a certain pattern evolved. The thermometer struggled to keep up with the up and down extremes of the temperature, but by the end of the month the pattern became three days of rising temperatures followed by a steep drop (like 30-40 degrees steep), followed by a three day rise to record highs before another 30 degree drop. The rain, however, did not drop, not a single drop mostly. Our rain gauge indicates 1.27” for the month. I’m pretty sure most of Arizona got more. The Accidental Cottage Garden looks amazing after being blitzed by six (of now my favorite) EMG’s. They were awesome. They cleaned out the beds, pruned some shrubbery, and made merry in the garden. It was both gratifying and humbling to know that they would take time out of their busy lives (and they all have busy lives) to help an EMG in need. EMG’S ARE AWESOME!!

View of a blue house with a side entrance, surrounded by overgrown plants and shrubs. The front yard has a concrete pathway leading to the door, with some landscaping elements visible.

A person kneeling on the ground, pulling weeds in a garden area with green grass and scattered plants.

What a beautiful day as several EMGs work in the cottage garden! (Image credit: Allie Mullin, JennVan Brunt, Allie Mullin)

Now here are some tips to make your garden look awesome.

Lawn Care

Fertilize warm season grasses (Bermuda grass, zoysia) with a high nitrogen slow release fertilizer as they are breaking dormancy now and would really like a good hearty breakfast. Hold off if you have a centipede lawn until late in May. It is no longer mandatory to cease fertilizing cool season lawns (bluegrass, fescue, rye) after mid-March. Use a balanced (10-10-10 or equivalent) fertilizer and be judicious. The window for applying crabgrass preventer may have closed. The colloquial way of remembering when to do that is sometime between the blooming of forsythia and blooming of dogwoods.

Fertilizing

Besides the lawn (see above), it is appropriate to feed any of the shrubbery that you didn’t get around to last month. (It’s ok. Nobody’s judging.)

Planting

A big question mark this year. How optimistic are you? Are you willing to cover stuff if we get a late frost? When the overnight temperature quits dipping into the thirties, the soil temp will soon enough get warm enough to plant melons, squash, pumpkins, cucumber, and corn from seed. Save the okra for the end of the month. You can transplant tomatoes and peppers. Be sure to plant enough to share with friends and with folks whose thumbs might not be so green and those whose homes might be real portable. They like fresh produce, too. Warm season grasses can be planted in April. Most need to be sodded or plugged/sprigged. Seeding is either not available or not generally successful. Check out the NCSU TurfFiles web site for all things grass in North Carolina.

Dried wildflowers with small white blossoms against a blurred green background.

A light green ceramic pot filled with vibrant green succulent plants, surrounded by dried grasses.

Whether in a pot or in the yard, spring is a time for flowering plants and new growth! (Image credit: Allie Mullin)

Pruning

Remove any winter damage from trees and shrubs. Leave spring flowering shrubs like azaleas, lilac (Syringa sps.), forsythia, spiraea, etc. alone until after they have finished blooming. Prune berry bearing plants such as hollies (Ilex sps.) and pyracantha while they are in bloom so you can judge how much of this year’s berry crop you are removing. Prune flowering cherry (Prunus sps.) and redbuds (Cercis sps.) as needed.

Two women outdoors, one playfully sticking her tongue out while holding a tool, surrounded by piles of yard debris with trees and houses in the background.

Enthusiastic EMG pruners visit the ACG and practice their pruning skills. (Image credit: Allie Mullin, Jenn VanBrunt)

Spraying

It is open season on azalea lace bugs, boxwood leaf miners, euonymus and tea scales and spider mites. Spray only as needed preferably with an organic product and ALWAYS read and follow label instructions. Spray iris beds for borers. Treat cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts) for worms. Spray squash plants weekly near the base from now until the first of June for borers. Spray apple and pear trees with streptomycin to control fire blight. Spray once at bud opening and again at full bloom. In rainy weather a third application might be necessary.
Begin weekly fruit tree spray program after bloom petals fall.

Other Things to Keep You Outside When It’s Way Too Nice to be Inside

There is always mulch. There are many options and much depends on your aesthetic preferences. There is pine bark in its many guises and single, double and triple shredded hardwood. Decorative stone next to the house if you are concerned about termites. Pine straw (needles) looks great in natural areas. There is dyed pallet chips (if you must) and wheat straw is good around the vegetable garden. All of them help retain soil moisture and cut down on the number of weeds. Total weed elimination is a myth. They are both prolific and tenacious. Besides pulling them by hand is therapeutic provided you can get back up afterward.

Here’s a thought. Let’s just sit outside and revel in nature unveiling herself yet again. I mean sometimes it might require a cold beverage of some sort and other times in April it might take hot chocolate and a fire pit, but either way it’s a celebration of April in North Carolina. Happy Spring, y’all.

Time for a rest to enjoy the the Accidental Cottage Garden in all its glory! (Image credit: Allie Mullin )

Additional Reading and Resources

Join the NC State Extension Master Gardener℠ volunteers of Durham County for our annual Plant Sale to find expert guidance and reliable, well-grown plants for the season. https://www.backyardtreasuresplantsale.org/

NC Extension has some more tips for the Spring Gardener: https://gardening.ces.ncsu.edu/garden-calendars/timely-tips-for-spring-in-the-piedmont-central-nc/

To learn more about growing healthy gardens in the Piedmont regions of North Carolina visit: https://sites.google.com/ncsu.edu/piedmont-spring-garden/home

The Virginia Cooperative Extension provides information on the types of mulch, their purpose, and how to avoid common problems related to mulch. https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/SPES/spes-661/spes-661.html#:~:text=If%20using%20mulch%20with%20small,contribute%20to%20the%20tree’s%20longevity.

Shortlink: https://wp.me/p2nIr1-7h7

Editor: Martha Engelke

By Gary Crispell, NC State Extension Master Gardener^SM volunteer of Durham County

(Left to right) The October surprise, or should we say November surprise, of the ACG is the New England aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae). Do you still have pumpkins and gourds hanging around through Thanksgiving? Each year an estimated 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins and gourds end up in landfills. Consider adding them to your compost or find a local participating municipality accepting them for donation. See below for more on Earth-friendly ways to deal with your organic decorations post-holiday.¹ (Image credit: Dan Mullem CC BY-NC-ND 2.0; Melinda Heigel)

How ‘bout that October? Except for precipitation of any sort, there was something for almost everyone—a little hot, a little cool, and some stereotypical October Piedmont North Carolina, NC State Fair weather. There haven’t been very many State Fairs in my memory without some honest to goodness rain. We’ve been blessed unless, of course, you were trying to grow plants which is sort of what we’re all about here. So, mixed blessings? I mean, as fantastic as this area is, it still ain’t Camelot, Guinevere.

(Left to right) The ACG is still providing blooms this November. The drought-resistant African marigolds prove their hardiness. When planting for fall color, you can count on the New England aster and pink muhly grass to provide late-season interest. (Image credit: Gary Crispell; Jim Robbins CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

The Accidental Cottage Garden (ACG) is too stubborn to give in to the crazy droughty up and down weather. There are some tough characters out there. The toughest of which must be the gallardia (G. pulchella). It doesn’t know quit. The African marigold (Tagetes erecta) and the zinnias (Z. elegans) are also heat and drought tolerant along with the false vervain (Glandularia bipinnatatifida). (Somebody stayed up late naming that one!)

A delightful surprise this year is a lovely New England aster (Symphotrichum novae-angliae). It isn’t as erect as I might be as it was crowded in amongst some other things, and I didn’t become aware of its existence until recently. Next year. Most of the hardy ageratum (Conoclinium coelestinum) have succumbed to the drought and the shorter days. There are a couple of late-to-the-party purple cone flowers (Echinacea purpurea) and a stray black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). The muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) are looking a little thin and wispy, but I attribute that to it being the first year in the ground for them. Enough about my garden, let’s talk about what we can do in yours in November.