It's time to ready our yards for 'renewal'

This winter was unrelenting.

Record snowfall. Record rainfall. Record inconveniences.

But in a global context, we know it could have been worse. When we're in the middle of it, however -- flooded house, leaking roof, road cleaved in two -- perspective is hard won.

Even though we are two weeks behind in the bloom cycle, according to my garden journal, I'll take it.

I've been posting photos of my first blooms on Facebook, and I'm not the only one. Mobile uploads of daffodils top the newsfeed, offering relief.

The warmer weather is great, but now the real work begins.

I have seen more than two dozen dwarf lace leaf Japanese maples, weeping birch trees and a few weeping hemlocks, all damaged from the weight of heavy snow. It's sad to see 50-year-old specimens with severe damage.

Here are tips to repair broken limbs on ornamental plants:

Inspect your plants for split limbs.

If the limb is smaller than one inch in diameter, use electrical tape to hold the split together.

Check the tape at the end of the growing season and replace if necessary.

Remove as soon as the wound appears healed.

Larger diameter splits (one inch or greater) will need a stainless steel bolt installed through the center of the split to hold it together.

If you are unsuccessful in bringing the split back together, the limb would need to be removed with proper pruning.

Bent branches on sheared plants, like boxwoods and yews, is also common after heavy snow. In most cases, the branches are bent and stuck underneath each other. Simply, straighten them out. If the branches are broken, it's best to prune them out. The compact nature of the plant will hide removal of a few branches.

I'm starting to see wilted or dead branches in rhododendrons and other broad-leaf evergreens.

The damage is visible, usually on the top of the plants first. They are beginning to dry out from the long winter -- the plants can only hold moisture for so long.

If, after a few more weeks, the leaves don't come back to life, then prune out the dead limbs.

Pachysandra turning yellow along roads and driveways from excessive salt is not uncommon.

Trim the plants down to three inches off the ground so the yellow growth is removed.

The pachysandra will push out new growth and look healthy in a couple months. Fertilizing with Hollytone will also help encourage new growth.

Here are some of the basics of starting a lawn from seed, for those areas alongside your driveway that have been torn up from plowing:

Healthy soil equals healthy plants. Spend the extra money to add topsoil or compost to the seedbed.

If you seed your lawn in the spring, be prepared to water the area lightly twice a day.

Seedlings are on the surface so you don't have to soak the ground.

A light covering of straw will help retain soil moisture. Do not use hay, as hay often contains weed seeds.

Do not use weed control products on new grass until it has been mowed twice -- usually six weeks after seeds first germinate.

Weed control products prevent grass seed from germinating and will harm young seedlings.

Avoiding weed control may mean your newly seeded area will be overrun with crabgrass and other weeds later in the season.

Winter is behind us. Temperatures will rise, and your green-spaces will begin the process of renewal.

Shayne Newman, who founded YardApes Inc. in 1990, is a landscape industry-certified manager and technician. He holds a Connecticut supervisory pesticide license and is a certified landscape designer.