This is the time of year when it often feels like it is all happening at once.
Weeds are exploding exponentially — partially because we never got around to mulching the beds in the fall; lawns once again need weekly mowing; perennials are returning twice as large as the previous season — and probably should have been divided; raised beds need prepping and planting — actually I prepped mine a month ago but still haven’t planted them, no thanks to the weather; and there is still pruning to finish.
It can be overwhelming to say the least. Yet, here I am asking you to slow down and smell the proverbial roses.
For me personally, this is one of the most difficult tasks to accomplish. I am a goal-driven, project-oriented individual who, once I have finished one chore, immediately starts looking at what needs to be done next.
Oh, sure, for one fleeting moment I will stand back and admire whatever it is I just completed, but then it is right on to the next assignment. If only I was better at practicing what I preach, especially when I am advocating to shift into a lower gear and take in all the glories of what I like to think of as the “resurrection month of April” when most of the garden is reborn.
In my defense, my garden is still very young, and unlike the 30-year-old garden I left three years ago, this one demands a ton of editing and tweaking as I attempt to accommodate the excessively wet soils. It is also the second year in a row of single digit winters that have forced me to rethink my plant selections.
Still, there are plenty of plants that are coming back with renewed vigor that I can’t wait to see fill in. As for the ones that crapped out, well, I am already dreaming about what I will replace them with.
Even amongst all the death and drowning — which thankfully is mostly confined to the backyard — I am reveling in the two dozen or so containers I planted with tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and pansies last fall. They are gloriously colorful and a constant reminder of the value of delayed gratification.
Also, speaking of bulbs, I am thoroughly enjoying the 200 Rapture daffodils I scattered around the front yard. Like Tete-a-Tete, Rapture is a cyclamineus dwarf daffodil with reflexed petals that should naturalize well. I find them absolutely delightful!
On the east side of the house under a 15-by-30-foot pergola — where there is perfect drainage — everything is waking up fabulously. Golden Bleeding Hearts are almost in full bloom, the spears of several hostas are unfurling blemish free (for now), crazy fronds of several ferns are uncurling their fiddle heads (I especially like the heart’s tongue Asplenium scolopendrium), and possibly my favorite shade perennial, Podophyllum “Spotty Dotty,” with its kaleidoscope-colored leaves, has returned in full splendor.
In the front yard, the tiny colorful orange leaves of “Magic Carpet” Spiraea and “Limoncello” Barberry are emerging, the newly bright yellow blades of “All Gold” Japanese forest grass are showing, and the finally unfolded dark red leaves of “Queeny” — that’s my “Crimson Queen” Japanese weeping maple — are all providing me with a spectrum of warm colors that complement those cute little “Rapture” daffodils. Whether leaves or flowers, you can’t help but be uplifted when you are immersed in all these bright colors.
In retrospect, maybe I have taken more time than I realize to enjoy the garden. Hopefully, you will do the same.
Free class
The next free class will be “Rockin’ Rhodies & Azaleas” at 10 a.m. Saturday, along with the free “Rhododendron Truss Show” — in partnership with The American Rhododendron Society Pilchuck Chapter — from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. For more information, go to www.sunnysidenursery.
Steve Smith represents Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville. He can be reached at sunnysidenursery@msn.com.
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