I am not complaining about the rain this winter, mostly because we get a nice day or two sandwiched in between rainy days. Whole weeks of nice weather in some cases. But I am certain if it rains into June like it did last year, I will be cross about the weather again. I will chalk that up to Human Nature.
My daffodils are up and ready to bloom. My snow drops are, too. I guess the snow drops are more geared to length of day and the daffs are geared to the warmer and sunnier weather. It is unusual to have them blooming at the same time, I think.
Pansies have to be one of my favorite spring flowers. This harkens back to our first trip to England in 1985. We were staying at a wonderful bed and breakfast in the Cotswold town of Cheddar. (Yes, that’s where the cheese comes from.) The owner of the B & B was a teacher by the name of Keith and he could be found each afternoon after school in his dress shirt and tie and his Wellington boots. We were there in March, and March in England is generally cold and uncomfortable. And yet, there was Keith, tending his pansies. When we commented on them, he replied, “Brave little flowers to be out in this cold.” Obviously I have never forgotten that and to this day I relish my “brave little pansies.” Besides, they remind me of that wonderful trip. We still exchange Christmas cards with Keith and his wife Jean, and have visited these good friends several times over the years. Keith is retired from teaching now, but he still wears his shirt, tie and “wellies” when he gardens.
I can’t believe it, but the slugs are out and about already. They like the warmish weather, too, I guess. So now is a good time to start baiting, especially around the hosta (or where the hosta will be). You, of course, will know this as you diligently marked those plants before they died back last fall, right? So now you can spread the slug bait around those markers.
We don’t have a deer problem, but lots of my gardening friends do. If only we could teach the deer the proper way of pruning a shrub ….
I love our dog dearly but wish she was a little more careful as she runs around the garden. I have tried to train her to stay to the paths. Ha! Talk about barking at the moon. There are too many other exciting things to see and sniff that are not on the walkways. But in the end, the dog is more important than the gardens. And I never thought I would hear myself say that, let alone put it in print.
I consider myself to be a semi-organic gardener. That is, I don’t like to use chemical pesticides on my plants so I try to be diligent about addressing problems as soon as I spot them. That means a lazy stroll through the gardens in all sorts of weather. Not a bad habit and a nice way to spend a little time. I do draw the line, however, on the above-mentioned slugs. I have no qualms about the way those little devils die. I am careful, though, not to use a slug bait that will harm the dog or my grandchildren!
I truly like using native plants where and when I can. They are so much easier to grow as they are acclimated to our climate. But who can resist those beautiful plants that come from England, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Japan? I mean roses, tulips, lavender and Japanese maples, among other plants. They make such nice accents even in a mostly-native garden. And the little extra trouble is certainly worth it.
You can grow roses on the coast. You just have to really want to.
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