Tag Archives: gardening

The strawberries over in the flower bed on the side of the house have decided to ignore the frost warning and have set blooms. It is pretty sheltered there so they may be okay. The violets and dandelions are going bananas in the back yard. In a week or two we’ll have dandelion seed clouds with the slightest breeze.

The garden phlox has really popped with all the lovely weather we have been having and the peas Jason planted for me are growing fast as weeds. Any minute now the rosebud will be in bloom and the peonies are growing so fast you can almost see them getting taller as you stand there. These are a pretty pink double variety.

With the sinus infection just about gone, it seems safe to get out in the garden again. The lily of the valley is coming up fast and the violets are blooming all over the yard. Over the weekend, I had Jason help me curtail the rampant lavender that is trying to take over the garden bed. We took 1-2 feet off of both sides, uncovering some of the flowers it was choking out. Much of what we removed had rooted so I’ve potted it up to give to friends. This is the grosso variety that makes long stemmed blooms perfect for lavender wands or cut flowers. It has a really nice scent as well and is my favorite among the ones that grow in my garden.

I was delighted to discover the bloodroot gifted me last summer is happily growing in my side garden as well as out back under the faucet. I was double delighted to find the ramps I’d tucked in under the faucet have also overwintered nicely. I’m going to keep an eye out for more ramps to plant there this year. They like a shady moist spot so that’s about the only place in my yard that fits. I’m also pleased to see that the scrawny lilac we moved has leafed out and survived the brutal move from it’s previous home of 15 years. It has never been happy up front so perhaps this slightly shadier spot will please it more.

May is coming up fast but despite being sick I’m managing a little garden prep here and there. This week I was able to plant carrots, beets, and sweet peas (the fragrant flowers, not the edible peas). My indoor veggie and flower seedlings are on their way and I hope to start tomatoes and bell peppers and things later this week. The asparagus is just starting to wake up. It’s hard to believe that I can set out tender annuals in a month’s time.

Like in much of the country, it felt like we had a late start to spring this year.







Not complaining, mind you. Many of my friends are still shoveling snow, so I certainly haven't been feeling exactly put-upon by mother nature here.







Just noticing that everything was much more careful about when it opened this year.







While I am not in any kind of a hurry to get to summer weather, it sure has been nice daydreaming up some plans for the upcoming vegetable beds at the back of the yard (you know, now that I've had three years here and actually know what the sunlight is like back there...)

But for now, I'm just enjoying poking around to see what's up.

I don’t dare go out in the pollen while I am still so sick which means Jason got stuck adding manure to the garlic bed and compost to the veggie bed out front as well as planting chard, sugar snap peas and greens. Meanwhile I stayed inside and got some more seedlings going. I started my hot peppers at the end of March because they take ages to grow and then this week I added some herbs, flowers and bunching onions. As soon as he gets fresh soil into my beet and carrot bags, I’ll plant those as well.

This is the latest my daffodils have ever bloomed since we moved here in 1999. I’ve always had daffs in March but it was April 5th before a single one opened this year. I have some lovely new scilla as most of my grape hyacinths appear to have been eaten by chippies or other critters and a lovely new little anemone that was gifted to me last year.

This time of year brings something new in the garden every day. Despite more snow than usual, the crocus are popping up all over as is the lamb’s ear and strawberries and quite a lot of garlic. Sadly, my little dragon has met his demise. I’ve been searching for a granite version to replace him but no luck so I will have to put something different there. Hot peppers take quite a long time to get going so they are always the first to get going on my indoor light stand. I’ve planted serranos, habaneros, and African bird peppers this year.