The snow is gone! Hallelujah!!! First steps for your garden season!

The ground is mud, the air smells like wet earth and possibility, and every instinct you have is screaming at you to plant something. Don't. Not yet. The frost is still in the ground, and the soil isn't ready — but time to prepare for the upcoming gardening season and celebrate the demise of the white stuff. 

Rake the beds clean

Get out there with a good leaf rake and clear away the matted debris winter left behind. Remove the dead leaves, broken stems, the remnants of last year's mulch that have turned into a grey, airless crust. Your perennials need light and airflow to wake up. This is the single most important thing you can do right now, and it takes an afternoon. Do it.

Pull back the mulch on your perennials

If you mulched heavily in the fall for winter protection, it is time to ease it back. Not off entirely, just back from the crowns so those first pale shoots can see daylight. Do not leave mulch piled tightly against plant crowns once spring arrives. It invites rot and keeps the soil too cold too long. Give them room to breathe.

Check for frost heave and press crowns back down

Check out your beds for crowns and rootballs that have been pushed up. Freeze-thaw cycles will push up plants, especially the ones that were planted last season.  Press them firmly back down.  If the ground is still frozen underneath, check again in a few days once the top layer has thawed enough to accept them.

Do your winter damage assessment

Before you get too attached to your mental picture of the garden, walk it honestly. Which plants didn't make it? Look for soft, blackened, mushy at the crown? Scratch a stem with your thumbnail; green underneath means alive, brown means it's gone. Make a list. This is useful data, not a failure report. Zone 4 winters are not kind, and knowing what you're replacing gives you a shopping list.

Scout your property for a new perennial bed

While you're out there walking the yard this week, look at it with fresh eyes. Is there a stretch of lawn you never use? A bare slope along the fence? A shadowy corner that could be something beautiful? Before the grass greens up and before the season gets away from you is the perfect time to stake it out with some garden stakes and twine, and start dreaming. A new perennial bed doesn't happen overnight, but the planning does. Sketch the shape. Note the sun exposure. Think about what blooms you want and when.

Ready to fill your garden? 

Check out Gardener Nation plants for 
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Contact Tracy directly to design your garden from scratch. She also does site visits, because there is no substitute for someone who actually walks your property, reads your soil and your light, and tells you exactly what will thrive where.

Your best garden ever starts with the right plan.

Clean and sharpen your tools

You will absolutely use them in the next few weeks. Wipe down metal blades with an oily rag, sharpen your spade and hoe with a mill file, and check your secateurs to ensure they s snap cleanly, not tear. A sharp tool is a safer tool, and it's kinder to your plants. Thirty minutes now saves you frustration for the entire season.

Get your garden ornaments back out

This one matters more than it sounds. Haul the gazing ball out of the garage, stand up the garden stakes, and set the frog back on his rock by the pond. These are the signals your brain needs to shift into garden mode. They also make the yard look great before a single thing blooms. 

Start a seed flat. Plants and colour on the cheap

You can't plant outside yet, but you can absolutely get a head start indoors. Go to the hardware store, and buy a seed flat, a bag of seed-starting mix, and a pack each of marigolds and zinnias — two of the easiest, most rewarding annuals you'll ever grow. Both germinate fast, both handle Zone 4 summers beautifully, and both will be ready to go in the ground right when your soil is. The cost of a seed packet versus a tray of transplants from the garden centre? Not even close. Start them now on a sunny windowsill or under a shop light, keep the mix moist but not soggy, and in six to eight weeks you'll have a full flat of colour waiting for planting day. This is how experienced gardeners fill their beds for pennies.

Drag the patio furniture out

Yes, even if there's still frost at night. There is no better motivator for finishing the yard work than being able to sit in it afterwards. Wipe the chairs, clean the table, find last year's cushions, and set the stage. A yard with patio furniture out feels like summer is here.

Have the first barbecue of the year

This is not optional. Burn the winter off the grates, pour yourself something worth drinking, and eat outside in a jacket if you have to. Zone 4 gardeners earned this moment. The beds are raked, the crowns are checked, the tools are sharp, the chairs are out, and there's a flat of marigolds coming up on the windowsill. There is nothing left to do tonight except enjoy the yard you've been thinking about since November. The summer has begun.

HOMEMADE BURGER RECIPE

My secret homemade burger recipe. Yes...I  created it!

Ingredients:

• 900 grams ground beef (80/20) (2 lbs)
• 1 tablespoon of crushed garlic (I use garlic from a jar. I hate the smell on my hands from cloves)
• 1 tablespoon of oregano
• 1 tablespoon of bais
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup of finely chopped onions
  
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 8 brioche burger buns
• 1.5 tablespoons butter
  

How to make the burgers

1. Make ahead — this is the first rule: Make these ahead of time — at least an hour before you plan to grill, or the morning of the barbecue. Cold, firm patties hold their shape on the grill, are safer to handle, and give you one less thing to do when guests arrive.
2. Mix the meat: Combine 900 grams ground beef (80/20), spices, onions and cheese in a bowl. Mix gently with your hands — just enough to combine. Overworking the meat makes tough burgers.
3. Portion into even balls: Scoop the mixture using 1/2 cup measure for each portion — this gives you 8 even patties from 2 lbs of meat. Roll each portion into a ball between your palms, then set it on a plate. Even balls mean even patties mean even cook times across the whole grill.
4. Press, thumbprint, and refrigerate: Press each ball down firmly with the heel of your hand into a patty slightly wider than your bun — they shrink on the grill. Press a shallow thumbprint into the centre of each one to stop them puffing up into a dome while they cook. Cover the plate and put it straight in the fridge.
5. Preheat the grill: When you're ready to cook, heat your grill to medium-high, around 200°C / 400°F. Brush the grates clean. A hot, clean grill is the difference between a good sear and a stuck mess.
6. Grill the patties: Pull the patties straight from the fridge and place them on the grill. Don't press them down — that's how you lose all the juice. Cook 3 minutes on the first side without touching them, then flip once.  Cook another 3–4 minutes for medium. Internal temp should hit 71°C / 160°F.
7. Toast the buns: Melt 1.5 tablespoons butter and brush the cut side of each 8 brioche burger buns. Toast on the grill for 1–1m 30s until golden. Watch them — they cook fast.
   
8. Rest and build: Let the patties rest 2 minutes off the heat before assembling. Load them up your way. Eat outside, in a jacket if you have to.

Chef tips:

• 80/20 ground beef is non-negotiable for flavour. Leaner beef makes a drier burger
• Brioche buns hold up to the juice without going soggy.