Crocus

Is it my imagination or are the crocuses prettier than usual this year? They are definitely a couple of weeks earlier. I planted hundreds of crocus between 2003 and 2005.

I remember walking around the garden in spring and sticking tongue depressors in the soil as markers so I would remember where I wanted to plant more bulbs in November. I remember digging all the little holes on chilly November days. I remember watering them in and sprinkling the soil with cayenne pepper to try to fool the squirrels.

It was definitely worth the effort.

Search for Crocus

Only 7 days until daylight saving time – 13 days to spring.

Snow is two feet high where we shoveled it on piles but soil is beginning to appear in sunny spots. So where are the crocuses?

Some tiny little crocus leaves can be spotted if you look hard enough.

The daffodils are poking through the soil.

Snow drops are opening everywhere.

And then - one crocus bloom!

Only 7 days until daylight saving time – 13 days to spring.

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Happy New Year

January – sigh.

As I looked through my garden pictures from last year I realized it will be at least 2 months before I can work outside again. And fully 2 or 3 months before the garden really comes to life.

The Snow Glories were blooming on March 11, 2009.

The first yellow crocus popped up between the leftover fall leaves.

The pretty purple helleborus was full of buds waiting to open.

The daffodils were budding.

Donna at Momma Mia Days (link at right) got me over the early winter doldrums with her colorful post from her trip to San Diego.

So I made a list. I have books and catalogs to read, a lot of house cleaning to do, income taxes to start, Mom’s apartment to clean and organize, flower shows and meetings to attend and garden plans to make.

I realized I have a choice. I can sit here wallowing in self-pity because it’s cold, icy and miserable outside or I can get some things done so I’ll be ready to garden in March.

On one hand, it looks like a long winter ahead. On the other hand, there may not be enough time to complete everything on my list.

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Crocus

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Carol at May Dreams Gardens is making me a nervous. On February 12 she posted an All Points Bulletin (APB) to search for her missing crocus.

My crocuses were also missing. I tried not to worry. Carol is zone 5. I am zone 6. So I told myself the crocuses in Carol’s garden were probably hiding out from the cold. Surely mine would appear any minute.

I looked through my photos from last spring. In the pictures, crocus began to bloom by March 14. (Picture here from 3/26/07.) Surely mine would appear any minute.

Finally this week, the tiny spiked leaves are barely visible in their bed. (Click on the picture to enlarge and you may be able to see tiny crocuses relative to a maple helicopter seed pod.)

If the frigid weather continues and the crocuses take it on the lam, I’ll be searching again - APB and all. And surely mine will appear any minute.


Carol, I hope the APB works!


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(Crocus information from around the world and through the centuries available from Oxford Journal of Experimental Biology.)
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Garden Clean Up

I took a lap around the yard yesterday. It’s a bit of a mess. A lot of it looks like this.

I don’t have anything that needs pruning immediately so I can work on clean up one section at a time. (Here is a handy pruning schedule from University of Virginia Extension http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/nursery/430-462/430-462.html ) Ornamental grasses will have to be cut soon before any more pieces blow around the neighborhood.

I need to get the leaves out of the azaleas, clean up the tulips and crocuses, and trim some left over perennials from last year. Hostas have dead spikes and leaves of mush on the ground. Fortunately, I have paths to work from so I don't have to tromp on the garden.

Bunnies (or something) are munching on the tulips. They have all been sprayed with Liquid Fence. The deer, groundhogs, rabbits and skunks dine on new spring growth and critters in the soil. The birds pick dusty miller for their nests. I won’t cut last year’s dusty growth until June when the new growth is well established. I also use a lot of cayenne pepper in the spring to try to convince the critters to eat something less ornamental. My husband insists they are out there making salsa in the middle of the night.

The hellebores appeared like magic it seems. The purple flowers are ready to open. A two-inch patch of mysterious green appeared next to the rhododendron. I think (hope) it is Irish Moss (Sagina sublata) although I have no record of planting it there. If anyone recognizes it, please let me know.

The gardening season has begun in earnest. I have a very busy schedule next week but I’m trying not to panic and run helter-skelter through the clean up. It’s a grand time of year as each day presents surprises in the garden.

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(I apologize – the sidebar “About Me”, “Previous Posts” and “Archives” - has moved to the bottom of this blog. Please scroll down to see previous posts.)

Garden 2007

Winners

The soil tests were easy to do. (see September 29, 2007 post) The results for the lilac/shade garden bed) were the most interesting. Calcium and Magnesium are way above optimum. Soil pH, Phosphate and Potash are below optimum. Recommended fertilization: “Apply 3.5 lbs. per 100 square feet of 5-10-10 and 0.5 lbs. per 100 square feet of 0-46-0.” I will continue to add compost and mulch to this bed and fertilize in spring. Hopefully, this will make a difference since this garden is starting to look a little sad. Now I know where to start.

The “Circle Garden”, put in to enhance the shape of the steps from the deck, is beginning to fill in. I like the plan this year – outside edge line Elijah blue fescue; next line grey Dusty Miller; then euonymus and an inside row of sweet alyssum. (see April 15, 2007 post). In another few years it should be perfect. Photos below compare the garden from August 2006 to July 2007. Gardening surely takes patience.

I shared some plants this year with community gardens, herb society, and with friends. It is very satisfying to find a use for surplus plants.

Old reliable winners

I have heard some gardeners say they get tired of their old plants. I will never tire of these old, reliable inhabitants in my garden.

Crocus - energizing a new season --- Azalea – riot of color

Columbine – simple and prolific --- Roses - fragrance and bloom

Coleus – a bright spot wherever they are

Crocus and Snow Drops

The crocuses are blooming and the snow drops are fading. Spring is coming alive in the plump pussy willow catkins and fattening leaves and flower buds on the shrubs. Daffodils, tulips, mini iris and hyacinths have pushed through the ground. And so it begins again.

My first job will be to clean up the mess winter left behind or that I didn't get to in the fall. Autumn Joy sedum, Autumn Sun rudbeckia and hybiscus spent flower stalks will be cut back as I rake leaves out of all the nooks and crannies in the garden.

I don't think I'll trim/prune the crepe myrtle this year. The shape & size seem fine. The crepe myrtle is the Rip Van Winkle in my garden and never really comes to life until later in the spring. So, I'll have time to change my mind and make a few adjustments if necessary.

The ornamental grasses will need to be cut back as I begin to see green shoots and before they blow leaves and seed heads all over the neighborhood. I don't believe they will need to be divided this year since we divided them (with a shovel and ax)the last two years.

I'll be spreading mulch as the clean-up progresses. I'll also need to divide daylilly Stella 'd Oro & Liriope. I need to dig up some snow drops for a neighbor.

And the list goes on and on. To me, it's better than Christmas.