Spring Emerges

It's been a LONG winter! But, as we all knew it would eventually come, Spring is finally here. I've had a particually hard winter, and I am most certainly ready for some playing in the dirt! As I take a stroll around the gardens, I see much work that needs to be done. I guess garden work is never really done, now is it?
This time of year seems to go by so fast, it's hard to get everything done on schedule, so I'll atempt to do a little bit every day.

A walk through the rose garden assures me that most all is well! As long as I see some green on the canes, I know the plant has survived the winter. It's still to early to cut them back, we could get some really cold weather yet, you never know. I will rake up between the plants, and move back any soil that I mounded up.

I see plenty of green canes on this plant, it looks like it did just fine. There was plenty of snow to keep the plants protected. Hopefully I won't have a lot of winter kill this year.
I cut back the tall grass, a chore I don't particulary like. I like to leave it through the winter, because I think it adds some winter interest to the garden. But if you waite too long in the Spring, it starts to break up and blow all over the lawn and garden.

Here it is before I cut it:

and now, it's cut, and hauled away to the compost!

Once it starts to grow, it will fill in quickly, and hide all the dead part.


It's important to have other flowers/shrubs/trees in the garden to give it structure. Each year I try to add something new to my garden. It might be a tree, or a shrub or two, or even a perennial plant.

Today I purchased a rose "Chuckles" This is a low-growing bushy Shrub rose. It has clusters of single,deep rose-pink blooms all season. I have it soaking in a pail of water, and will plant it tomorrow.
I will give it a season to grow, watch it and see how it does, and if it is a rose that I really like, I will take cuttings from it and make a whole row of them.
Want to learn how to take cuttings from your roses to multiply them? Learn about propagating roses


The daffodills have not only poked up their heads, but they are growing so fast, I swear if you stand still and watch them you can actually SEE them growing!

I have large clumps of them throughout the gardens, in many different colors. I think they are very beautiful flowers, perfect almost. They are easy to grow (plant in the fall) They return every year, you can pick them and bring them inside, or leave them in the garden to add beautiful color. What more could you want in a garden flower?

Back out to the garden, more raking to do......

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

A magical thing

And sweet to remember

"We are nearer to Spring

than we were in September."

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December.

-Oliver Herford