If you’re looking for reliable, up-to-date, free information about how to landscape your lawn this spring, which ornamentals, vegetables, native species or herbs to plant or how to compost and mulch, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension likely has a publication that will answer your questions.
The CAES Publications Web site (www.caes.uga.edu/publications) offers more than 200 research-based publications on gardening and landscaping. Another 400 publications cover subjects ranging from how to raise horses, cattle, pigs and chickens to how to control carpenter ants and termites. Below is a list of some of the free online publications that can help you prepare your garden for spring and start planning ahead for summer.
Indoor and Container Gardening
- Gardening in Containers: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C787/C787.htm
- Gardening in Containers Using Tropical Plants: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1338/B1338.htm
- New Trial Tropical Container Gardens: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1361/B1361.html
- Growing Indoor Plants with Success: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1318/B1318.htm
Spring Gardening -- Ornamentals
- Soil Preparation and Planting Procedures for Ornamental Plants in the Landscape: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B932-w.htm
- Care of Ornamental Plants in the Landscape: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1065/B1065.htm
- Proper Planting Results in Healthy, Water-Efficient Plants: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C895/C895-3.htm
- Environmentally Friendly Landscape Practices: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C967/C967.htm
- Landscape Plants for Georgia: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B625/B625.htm
- Native Plants for Georgia Part I: Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B987/B987-contents.htm
- Native Plants for Georgia Part II: Ferns: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B987-2/B987-2.html
- Crape Myrtle Culture: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C944/C944.htm
- Rose Culture for Georgia Gardeners: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B671/B671.htm
- Selecting and Growing Azaleas: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B670/B670.htm
Spring Gardening – Vegetables and Herbs
- Georgia Home Grown Tomatoes: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1271/B1271.htm
- Growing Vegetables Organically: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1011/B1011.htm
- Home Gardening: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B577/B577.htm
- Vegetable Gardening in Georgia: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C963/C963.htm
- Herbs in Southern Gardens: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1170.htm
- Conversion Tables, Formulas and Suggested Guidelines for Horticulture: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B931/B931.html
- Soil Testing for Home Lawns, Gardens and Wildlife Food Plots: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C896/C896.htm
Composting and Mulching
- Composting: Recycling Landscape Trimmings: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C981/C981.html
- Composting and Mulching: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C816/C816.htm
Landscape Design
- Choosing a Landscape Design Professional: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/FS101/FS101.htm
- Drawing a Landscape Plan: The Base Map: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/FS103/FS103.htm
- Drawing a Landscape Plan: Site Analysis: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/FS104/FS104.htm
- Working with a Garden Designer: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/FS102/FS102.htm
- Water Saving Tips when Planning a New Landscape: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C895/C895-2.htm
Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Wildlife
- Environmental Enhancement with Ornamental Plants: Attracting Birds: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C976/C976.html
- Environmental Enhancement with Ornamentals: Butterfly Gardening: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C975/C975.html
- Beyond Butterflies: Gardening for Native Pollinators: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1349/B1349.htm
- Planting Guide to Grasses and Legumes for Forage and Wildlife in Georgia: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C814/C814.html
Pruning
- Pruning Ornamental Plants in the Landscape: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B961/B961.htm
- Basic Principles of Pruning Woody Plants: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B949/B949.html
Trees
- Trees for the Landscape: Selection and Culture: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubs/PDF/B875.pdf
- Fast-Growing Shade Trees: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/L350.htm
Pests
- Managing Imported Fire Ants in Urban Areas: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1191/B1191.html
- Rats and Mice: Get Them Out of Your House and Yard: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C970/C970.html
- Stinging and Biting Pests of People: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C782/C782.htm
- Dealing with Nuisance Wildlife: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/B1248/B1248.html
- Using Milorganite to Repel White-Tailed Deer from Flowering Perennials: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C889-1/C889-1.htm
- Using Milorganite to Temporarily Repel White-Tailed Deer from Food Plots: http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C889-2/C889-2.htm
For more free resources on topics ranging from gardening to raising backyard chickens to managing a dairy herd to getting rid of head lice, visit the Publications Web site at www.caes.uga.edu/publications or contact your county UGA Extension agent by calling 1-800-ASK-UGA1.
