The Gardening Itch Begins

You enjoyed your garden last year. You planted, watered, harvested, admired.

Then winter came. The tools got tucked away. The days got shorter. The garden rested — and maybe you did too.

But now? You feel it. The gardening itch is back.

The sun lingers a little longer. The soil smells and looks different. You walk outside and start noticing things again. What survived. What didn’t. What needs pruning. What could be better.

So where do you start?

1. Start With a Walk

Before you buy anything. Before you prune. Before you dig. Just walk your garden.

  • Notice what’s starting to pop and what still looks asleep.
  • Do you remember the names — common or botanical?
  • Where are the bare spots? I something going to come up later in the year (i.e hostas)
  • What did you say last year: “Next year I will…”?

Let the garden talk to you.

2. Handle the Easy Wins First

Are your roses pruned? Your fruit trees?

There are excellent tutorials online specific to our region. Prune them properly and get the old fruit, rose leaves, and clippings into the curbside compost bin. Large woody prunings are difficult to break down in home compost systems.

Simple seasonal tasks build momentum quickly.

3. Feed the Soil as Plants Wake Up

This is the perfect time to fertilize. Plants are emerging from dormancy and actively taking up nutrients.

  • I like to use an all purpose organic fertilizer mixed with compost — you probably even have some tucked away in the shed.
  • Cultivate your fertilizer into the top 3 inches of soil along with live organic compost.
  • Avoid chemical fertilizers. They damage the microbes that make your soil alive and resilient.

Healthy soil grows healthy plants. Always start there.

4. Prune with Knowledge, Not Shears

Learn your plant names. It makes you a better pruner.

Leafy (herbaceous) perennials like penstemon should be cut back to just a few inches above the ground. The old leaves are weathered, often damaged, and can harbor overwintering insect eggs. New growth should replace old growth each year.

Don’t shear your shrubs like a hedge. They may contain the flowers that are about to bloom.

Pruning should enhance structure and beauty, not just reduce size.


Some shrubs and small trees benefit from selective pruning — removing individual branches back to the main trunk to open structure and light. Cut just outside the branch collar. Never make a flush cut against the trunk.

5. Reset the Veggie Bed

If your vegetable bed is full of weeds and grasses, don’t just yank them out.

  • Spread live compost over the top and turn everything over — up to 12 inches if possible. Those green weeds contain roughly 3% nitrogen in dry form. As you turn them under with compost, they begin to break down quickly and feed the soil.
  • Let it sit 10 days to two weeks to let nature do its work. Then turn it again and get ready to start planting
  • You’re building soil, not just clearing weeds.
  • Rotate crops whenever possible — especially tomatoes. If space is limited, amend heavily and introduce fresh soil to reduce disease pressure and increase vigor.
  • Start with cool-season crops like:
    • Kale
    • Chard
    • Peas
    • Fennel
    • Broccoli
    • Caluliflower
    • And herbs like cilantro and parsley

These tolerate frost and produce quickly in freshly turned soil.

6. Start Seeds — or Start Smart

Begin collecting seeds and seedlings.

  • The smaller the seed, the trickier it can be to germinate.
  • If you see healthy starter plants you want, buy them. You can always pot them up into larger containers with organic potting soil while your beds finish preparing.

Don’t miss your moment waiting for perfection.

7. Protect What You Plant

Watch for snails. They can do significant damage overnight.

A simple trap works:

  • Use a cheap beer in a shallow can (like a cat food can).
  • Don’t rinse it out — the smell draws more in.
  • If rain or overhead watering is expected, place a one-gallon can over the top with small cuts around the rim so snails can crawl in. A dark, moist place that smells like beer? Irresistible. We call it the “snail bar.”

Keep Learning

Visit nurseries. Ask questions. Write down plant names and look them up.

Gardening is a lifelong endeavor. Plants are always communicating — through their growth, color, and blooms. They show you when they have too much water or too little; we simply need to learn the art of observation and, when needed, test the soil with a probe.

Success builds passion. Failure builds knowledge.

Take chances. Observe closely. Adjust as you go.

The garden never really stops — it rests.

The season is starting. If you’re ready to dig in, at Sonoma Valley Nursery we’re stocked with starters, plants, and the guidance to help you succeed.