See what I did there? It’s spring, and the garden is “springing” back to life. Oh, I am such a witty fellow!
Anyway, yes, the garden is slowly awakening from its long winter nap. Honestly, it was a fairly mild winter here along Colorado’s Front Range. We did have some serious deep freeze temperatures in January, and one or two heavy snowfalls. But this winter wasn’t as harsh as last winter.
The weather was so mild, I was able to get out in late February to start the annual garden cleanup. I finished up in early March (a day before a huge snowstorm dumped 14″ of snow) and have been waiting ever since for the temps to rise so I can start actually working the soil.
That point has arrived. Just this past week, I moved a goldenrod to a more favorable location. I then dug out some plants in the back corner to make room for new ornamental grasses. I will provide an update when I get those in the ground. In the front yard, I moved some Turkish veronicas from along the front walkway and replaced them with low growing sedums. I am expecting a few more sedums in the mail any day now. When I receive them and get them planted, I will be sure to post a picture.
No photos of the cleanup this year. It’s a pretty boring event, and there is not much to tell. First there is a mess, then there isn’t. Ho-hum.
So, what’s in bloom right now?
The only fly in the ointment is that if feels like the wind has been blowing nearly nonstop the entire month of April. I really hate working in the wind. The only time that wind doesn’t bother me is when I am inside the house with a frosty beverage near at hand and my nose buried in a book.
But the wind hasn’t bothered the plants at all.
Because spring has also been pretty mild so far, some of the plants in the Vintage garden are blooming a little earlier than usual. Check it out:
I’m pretty sure I’ve stated before that I am not a huge fan of spring flowering bulbs. Oh, I like them alright. But their flowers last such a short time it’s hard to get excited about them. And the blooms are so small, that you need a ton of them to make an impression. Which is a bit expensive.
Also, they are known as ephemerals, because after they finish blooming their foliage sticks around for a few weeks then die back. By June, there is no sign of them at all.
Still, after a long, cold and grey winter, there is something hopeful about seeing them in bloom on a sunny early spring day. Thus, I make room for a few of them in the Vintage garden.
Check this out…
Last year, while I was digging out grass and weeds from the front yard to make way for the waterwise garden, I also dug up numerous spring flower bulbs. I tried to salvage as many as I could, and moved them to new locations elsewhere in the garden. But I knew many got left behind. Mostly because I couldn’t find them. Sadly, their days were numbered, because I was going to put down landscape fabric and cobble on top of them.
Or so I thought. Turns out I was wrong. Look at these guys:
These bulbs have managed to find any chink in the landscape fabric and have pushed their way to the sun. I have used Ian Malcom’s quote before, and it fits perfectly here: “Life finds a way.”
In other gardening news…
Mr. Horny Woodpecker has returned after an absence of couple of years. He hasn’t been as persistent at using our chimney cap to call the ladies as he was in the past. Perhaps this is a different woodpecker, and my old friend from years gone by has gone on to greener pastures.
What grows in your April garden?
