AMES, IOWA — As the weather warms up during the weekend and the threat of severe storms evaporates, Iowans will head outdoors and tend to yards, trees and plants.

Reiman Gardens’ annual plant sale runs through Sunday, but has already experienced a steady stream of people looking for their latest gardening project.

“People started looking at their yards and thinking, ‘Wow, this might be a good time to do something safe outdoors,” said Reiman Gardens director Ed Lyon. “This has become a huge trend during the past two years that we’re still riding. People started these gardens during the pandemic and now they’re looking for more plants to put in their gardens.”

A similar scene of supply and demand unfolded at Bentley Ridge Tree Farm and Nursery in Grimes.

“It was a slow start here to the season for sure…we saw a lot of variance in grass heights in people‘s yards,” said Jimmy Juergens of Bentley Ridge Tree Farm. “A lot of people are putting on pre-emergence right now to get that stuff taken care of. Trying to get the grass has been the big thing.”

Juergens said people should cut their grass two to three inches high and get rid of weeds first. He also recommends tending to trees who have experienced a rough and windy winter.

“We are seeing some of the latest flowering we’ve ever seen on some of these trees,” said Juergens. “People are used to having leaves on trees at this point the season…hopefully in the next week it will green up.”

For information about the Reiman Gardens Plant sale click here: