Lunar Gardening Tips for April 29 – May 5, 2012

The waxing phase continues through the Full Moon on Saturday, but with only a few really good planting days. Best days are May 3-5. Exclude the 5th if you don’t like planting on the Full Moon.

Leo and Virgo are barren signs, best for general cleanup, weeding, pest riddance, and the like, though I prefer to get rid of things when the Moon is in the waning phase. The waning phase signifies release, so it just makes sense.

Last week I mentioned focusing on the star of your garden and adding garden decorations while the Moon is in the royal sign of Leo. I picked up a fantastic garden ornament from a local nursery that I adore. It’s a gazing ball with moon and star cutouts, perfect for a lunar gardener or a moon garden. It can be used just as a gazing ball, but a candle can be placed underneath it for nighttime use. It casts beautiful dancing moon and star shapes when a candle is placed inside, making quite a fanciful centerpiece for outdoor dining. I kept it outside for a while, but I love it so much that I’ve brought it back indoors.

Did you know that Leo is associated with the back? If you need to get your “back forty” prepped for planting during a fertile sign, Leo is a good time to do just that. Leo is a dry, barren sign, but that doesn’t mean it’s useless. If you’re setting something in Quikrete (that fast setting concrete), use the fiery force of Leo to help it set well. Make your own garden stepping stones using Quikrete and personalize them. Check out the video below to learn how.

How about organizing all those little slips of paper with garden notes on them while the Moon is in Virgo. . .or your seed packets! To help you out a bit, I’ve created a garden journal page for the week which you can download here to keep notes on. If I have a good response to it, I’ll keep them coming on a weekly basis. If you keep good notes on it, it will be a fantastic reference for you in the coming years.

I keep a few baseball card pages in my notebook for seed packets. It’s a great way to organize them and know what I have on hand.

You can always sow seeds for vines or transplant them during waxing Virgo.

Libra, though an air sign, is one of the fertile signs and especially good for flowers. Show-stopping roses will love your special attention now. Anything that brings beauty to the garden will respond to fertile Libra during the waxing phase. Roses are busting out all over down here in Zone 8. The knockout roses are breathtaking. You may just be setting out roses if you live in a cooler climate. Libra days are superior to do this lovely, though somewhat thorny, task.

We awake to the Moon in Scorpio on Saturday. It’s “officially” full much later in the night. Here’s a little something to keep in mind ~ the Moon in Scorpio is waxing on Saturday before it’s full, but waning on Sunday. If you’re setting out annuals, do that on Saturday. Sunday the Moon changes to the waxing phase, so turn your attention to perennials. Give it a try!

Here are this week’s phases and time changes. Times noted are EDT.

Still interested in the garden journal page for this week? Download it here.

I really like her idea about using laminated photos in stepping stones. Be creative! Print some of your favorite online designs or photos to use in this way. If you’d like to make a zodiac path, you could put each zodiac sign into a different stone.