This week in Sarah’s Garden – Brookside Kansas City Gardening and Landscape To-Do List

by Sarah Snodgrass   ·   May 29th, 2025   ·   Filed Under Garden + Chickens, Homemaking   ·   No Comments

This week at Brookside Sarah’s house, I will be focused on weeding, transplanting, planting, and pruning. It is late spring, the temperatures have been mild, and we’ve had regular rain. The plants (and weeds) are thriving! But that means they need maintenance. In this post, I will share what maintenance I suggest to keep your yard beautiful and healthy. Sign up for my weekly newsletter for regular information and updates on gardening in Kansas City, garden tours and events, natives, gardening with kids, and more.

photo of sarah in garden
An Old Photo of Sarah in her Vegetable Garden (maybe 2015?)

Weeding

The weeds are in overdrive right now. Catch them while they are young, and be sure to get the entire root or it will just keep growing and spreading. The soft ground following the recent rains makes weeding much easier so I recommend that you prioritize this task before the ground dries out. I typically use a garden knife to weed individual plants, but for larger areas, I may use a hoe and even cover areas with cardboard.

Transplanting

This is a great time to dig, divide, and transplant. The weather has been most favorable with the mild temperatures and regular rainfall. I was just speaking to a neighbor about this very thing; she moved and divided a bunch of plants last week, and her plants didn’t miss a beat. Typically, you might see some drooping while they acclimate to their new home, but hers didn’t droop at all!

Reasons why you might want to transplant:

  • Save money! Do you have an empty area where need landscaping or plants, but it feels too expensive or overwhelming? You may already have the free plants in your yard! There are so many perennials that you can divide and they will spread and grow to fill in a new space. Like grasses, hostas, iris, black eyed Susans (rudbeckia), peonies, many natives like goldenrod, aster, etc… It’s really not that hard – don’t be scared! Just give it a try, and remember to water your new plantings regularly. Plants are very expensive so this is one of my favorite options.
  • Your plants are crowded! If you have an area where your plants are growing together and it is beginning to look crowded or busy, don’t be afraid to thin it out. Dig it up, divide and/or reposition your plants, and tidy it up. If you have extra plants, either move them to a new spot in your yard or pot them up. Once potted, they make great gifts for friends and neighbors!
  • Your plants need different exposure! Do you have plants that just don’t seem to be thriving where they are planted? Or do they flop over for no apparent reason? The most common reason a plant isn’t thriving is due to insufficient sunlight. Full sun means a plant needs six hours of direct sunlight. If it needs part sun, then give it three hours of afternoon sun. If it needs part shade, then make sure it has about three hours of gentle morning sun (or north/east exposure). Full shade plants prefer no direct sun (but a little sun or dappled light can be tolerated by many shade plants). It’s nearly impossible to hit these numbers exactly so don’t worry if you aren’t sure or aren’t exact. Just think of them as a guideline, and do your best and try different spots until you find one that works for your plants.

What to Plant

There is still time to plant many summer veggies. You can still plant tomato plants, cucumber seeds, bean seeds, pepper plants, basil, squash seeds, okra, sweet potatoes, and more. I will also be planting flower seeds – the bunnies are eating my zinnia seedlings so I’m going to plant more. This is also a good time to plant perennials and shrubs, but try to get them planted and established before the heat of summer hits, and remember to water your new plants regularly.

Pruning

Most of our spring flowering shrubs are finished blooming and may be looking a little floppy or too big. This is the perfect time to prune them. Don’t be afraid of pruning – it is healthy for your plant, and will keep the shrub under control and “right sized” in your landscape. Overgrown bushes is the #1 most common landscaping problem I see in the houses I sell, and it’s easily preventable.