Return to cooler temperatures 'a good thing' for gardeners

One day before the official start of spring, outdoor businesses are trying to keep up with the fluctuating temperatures.

According to Royal City Nursery in Guelph, the return to cooler temperatures is a positive. If flowering trees like magnolias, apples, pears, cherries and plums start flowering too early, fruit could be lost in a cold snap later on.

“It's a good thing that we're we are getting a little bit chilly,” Tanya Olsen from Royal City Nursery said.

Most of the things that have started growing are suited for changing temperatures, she said.

"So for the most part, if you've got something that started to pop or started to swell, as long as those buds have not cracked open, the plant will actually be just fine. They'll go back to sleep for a little bit," Olsen said.

For those itching to garden, Olsen said they can start planting indoors or do some pruning outside.

“Go ahead and prune, it's not going to hurt things,” Olsen said.

Tanya Olsen arranges flowers at Royal City Nursery in Guelph on March 18, 2024. (Dave Pettitt/CTV Kitchener)

Olsen said once it starts to warm up a bit, people can start planting seeds for their vegetable garden outside. But it is too soon for lawn enthusiasts to be planting grass seed or raking.

“It's too early to start raking. You want to start raking once your grass is dried. So you need to wait until the soil is dry and the soils warmed up,” Olsen said.

Early landscaping

A local landscaper said he has been busy doing typical spring cleanup work for the past two months. Usually in mid-March, he would still be focused on snow, but that has been lacking this year.

“Snow maintenance usually [lasts] up to late April. So we got two months right now that are kind of just filler work," Nick Wagner, supervisor of landscaping at Fleischauer Brothers Landscaping Ltd. said.

Nick Wagner, supervisor of landscaping at Fleischauer Brothers Landscaping Ltd. power sweeps a parking lot in Kitchener on March 18, 2024. (Colton Wiens/CTV Kitchener)

Two weeks ago, Wagner said he started edging and putting down mulch in flowerbeds. Usually that kind of work does not happen until the end of March.

"There's steady work going on right now. We're doing landscaping in February and March," Wagner said.

With a bit of snow falling Monday and cool temperatures in the forecast for the rest of the week, Wagner said it may change the work he’s doing.

"Maybe if we get another snowstorm, we might have to do some of this work again, doing snow piles and stuff," he said.