Spring Ahead

Spring ahead means more this year than a change to daylight saving time. Spring in the garden this year is weeks ahead of schedule.

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PJM Rhododendron (above), usually blooms in the middle to end of April. It wasn’t bothered by below freezing temperatures the other night. Last spring, I trimmed about 1/3 off and I’ll cut it back by another third when it’s finished blooming this year. It’s just getting too big for the space.

About ¾ of the mulch has been spread. The Helleborus’ (Lenten Rose ‘Royal Heritage’) nodding blooms continue their long bloom time. Mulch makes it all look pretty.

Daffodil season is winding down and some daffs are ready for dead heading.

Pieris Japonica ‘Mountain Fire’ is finishing its pretty winter bloom. When the blooms are gone, new growth will be bright a burgundy. This is what I call a bonus plant – winter bloom and summer color.

The mop head hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Venice”) is leafing out dodging the frosts so far. I cut it for shape last summer. I will only need to cut off the dead branches this spring. We’ll see how well it blooms this year after last summer’s haircut.

The early spring makes me feel like I need to hurry to catch up when, in reality, I need to slow down. The last frost date here in zone 6 is around May 15. Over a month till it’s time to put out tender annuals and vegetables. It’s also important that the soil be warm enough to promote healthy growth.

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The coleuses will have to wait for their outside debut.

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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Deadheading Bulb Flowers

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The last several days I’ve been deadheading daffodils, hyacinths and tulips.

As the flowers fade I snip the stalk. I don’t want seeds to develop. You can see the seed head beginning to form on the daffodil as a bulge behind the flower. Ripe seeds could grow into a new daffodil. But, it takes 5 to 7 years to bloom – if you do everything right. Much better to buy bulbs or divide existing clumps.

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Making seed saps the bulb's energy. I want the energy to go into the bulb so it can produce blooms next year. The leaves remain to nourish the bulbs. One year I folded and rubber banded all the leaves. Not only was it time consuming but I think it looked worse than yellowing leaves. I’m also not sure how much nourishment the bulbs got from those little knots. I don’t think anyone recommends that method today.

I planted perennials near some bulbs to camouflage the fading leaves. Lilies, asters, cone flowers, black-eyed susans, hosta and daylilies do a good job hiding the fading bulb foliage. Sometimes I plant annuals in front of the clump. I add a little bone meal or Bulb Tone.

I snip the cuttings into two to four inch pieces and compost them. They make colorful compost, don’t they?


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(More information on growing bulbs from Ohio State University Extension, Purdue University Extension “Flowering Bulbs” .)

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Happy Easter

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Spring bulbs are blooming.

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Happy Easter everyone.

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Forcing Bulbs

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I potted some bulbs in November. Watered and stored them in a box in the garage. My biggest concern was about water. Too much might rot the bulbs. But nothing rotted so I guess I did OK. I brought them into the house and put them in a sunny window on January 13.

Narcissus Grand Soleil d’Or is labeled as “Indoor Narcissus.” The package suggests, “Spread some pebbles or marbles over the (potting) mix for a nice appearance and to prevent the Narcissus from falling over when in full bloom.” I haven’t done that (yet). The growth actually started within a few days.

The hyacinth was labeled “Pink”. I used the same method as the narcissus. You can just see the bloom in the center of the leaves in the picture.

It was a simple project and fills some of my need to garden in these cold, snowy months. I’ll post a picture when they bloom.

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(More information on forcing bulbs from Penn State Cooperative Extension - Berks County.)

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Another Garden Year

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Spring, summer, fall, and winter –

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2008 is almost at an end. It’s been a good year in the garden. I’ll be away until the end of January so I will take a break from blogging. I’ll miss fellow bloggers and friends. Hopefully, I’ll come back with renewed energy.

I look forward to next year’s garden. I hope we will all meet back here at the end of January. Talk to you then.

Have a loving holiday season and a new year filled with joy.

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Forcing Bulbs

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I’ve decided to try to force some narcissus (‘Grand Soleil d’Or’) and hyacinths (‘Pink Surprise’) to bloom next spring. I’m aiming for an early March bloom.

I’ll be planting them in soil in a day or two. Right now they are in the refrigerator. The temperature has been a little warm outside – not staying consistently below 50 degrees.

I'll keep them in the garage after they are planted and keep them in the dark. I plan to bring them in from cold storage about the middle of January. I’ll put them in a cool room out of direct sunlight until they sprout. Then I’ll move them to a sunny window. That’s my plan, anyway.

Some expert information on forcing bulbs from Purdue and Clemson University Extensions.

I haven’t followed directions to the letter. I will be away in the beginning of January so I’m trying to adapt the directions to what is possible for me.

I’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out.

Won’t it be nice when the daffodils and hyacinths are blooming in the garden again like the pictures here? (Approx. 160 days 'till outdoor blooms.)

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Garden Awakening

The garden explodes in spring.

There is a lot happening in the garden right now. I’ve managed to divide the liriope, daylily, and coreopsis. About half of the cleanup is done.

The daffodils,

mini iris,

glories of snow,

hellebores are blooming and

I have a load of mulch in the driveway.

As lemon thyme, bleeding heart, mums, coreopsis, lupine, columbine turn green, I’ve got a lot of mulch to move.

Spring Fever

All it took was one warm day. Temperatures above 60 on Monday made me antsy to get out and work on garden cleanup. I trimmed the pussy willow and cut back the hellebores and sweet autumn clematis.

I don’t want to walk on the garden while it is soft and wet but I can reach a lot of from paths and stepping stones.

I need to cut back Autumn Joy Sedum, Purple Coneflower, Black-Eyed Susan and other perennials where I left the seed heads for the birds over the winter. Ornamental grasses need to be cut. I don’t see any new growth from the hellebores which is unusual. Hopefully they’re late and not dead. There are leaves to be cleaned out. I’m sure I’ll find much more when I get outside on the next balmy day. Believe it or not I can see some weeds popping up. They will go ASAP.

The Japonica is almost in bloom.

Snow drops are everywhere.

Heather blooms cheerfully at the top of the bank.

I can see the tops of daffodils, crocus and miniature iris.

Ah yes, spring is almost here.


(I apologize – the sidebar “About Me”, “Previous Posts” and “Archives” has moved to the bottom of this blog.)

Daffodils

I think you can never have too many daffodils. I have quite a few throughout my garden. I love the yellow drifts in spring. They are tall enough to be seen from the street and the deer don't like them.

I have some I want to move because I think they don't get enough sun to make them bloom. I also have some hyacinths with the same problem and I want to move them too.

I plan to try to disturb the roots, bulb and leaves as little as possible during the transplant. I will dig the transplant hole first & then try to get the biggest dirt clump with the bulb that I can. Hopefully, the less they are disturbed the more energy they will be able to store for a bloom next spring. It may take a few years to get a bloom but they aren't doing much where they are so, what the heck, I'll give it a try.

A little warmer weather would be helpful. We've had temperatures with wind chills in the 20's and 30's the last few days. The rest of the garden seems OK. So far, I haven't seen any damage to the plants and shrubs that are beginning to leaf out. Oh well, mother nature is one of the variables to deal with when gardening. She doesn't always co-operate.

I bought 4 large pots at Ollie's ("Good Stuff Cheap") for my container garden. The price and size were right. I try to stop a Ollie's periodically. Sometimes I find things I need and sometimes I come away empty handed.