But didn’t. Because I procrastinated, was too busy, and had oh-you-know reasons why I could not get these things done! These are the top five things I should I have done LAST FALL in the yard and garden. Now I am just kicking myself.

1. Divide daffodil bulbs. We have several patches of daffodils in our backyard and all last year, I thought, “I really should get out there and dig them up. They are too crowded!” I was right, they are too crowded. They did not even bother to bloom this spring. Yikes! Daffodils like to grow in clusters and if you start digging, it is easy to dig up hundreds of bulbs. I really, really, really should divide them this year.

2. Prune the rosebush. Yep, I just plain forgot. And it looks scraggly and kinda pathetic at the moment. It is starting new leaves already and I might be able to prune it up some after the last frost date. It took off like a weed after I planted it last summer and I am still learning about its growth habit.

3. Mulch rings around the trees. This is something I can still accomplish for our relatively young Japanese Maples, but it would have been nice to have the mulch in place over the winter to encourage the weeds and grass to die. Grass is a huge competitor for space and nutrients. Our harsh summers and lawn grass give our young Japanese Maples a really hard time.

4. Prune broken branches.** We have an older Dogwood in our front yard and it is by far one of the largest and most evenly shaped ones I have seen. But it has had problems with storm-induced damage. I did prune out several damaged limbs last year, but left one or two at the time because I was exhausted. Well, thankfully we made it through a very snowy, wet winter without more damage. I really should prune out the last of the broken branches before severe thunderstorms start rolling through. ** I hope to do a basic pruning how-to post later this spring.

5. Spread flower seeds. I would like to grow columbine and poppies in my garden, but once again did not get seeds to spread in my garden last fall. My garden employer has many flowers that go to seed each summer and is always willing to share the bounty. Because of my forgetfulness or negligence, my garden is still going to be rather plain in April.

What sorts of things did you put off last year and hope to do this time around? What do you want to do differently in your garden? Leave a comment below!

Thank you for reading today’s post. I hope you will come again.