We are still in the glorious phase of late spring, which makes regular turns around the garden a happy excursion for our house-bound situation. It’s the perfect break from sitting at the computer and working from home. Those breaks are important, as I’ve discovered. At this time of the year, when everything is practically growing before our very eyes, it’s also important not to miss a single day outside. Even in the rain, I try to get out and examine how each plant is coming along.
The weeping larch in the featured photo started on an iffy note, but after some heavy pruning and readjustment, it’s exploded into a carpet of the lovely wintergreen color seen here. It’s being crowded by a pushy stretch of Thuja, but for now it’s holding its own.
A hosta with leaves that could have been painted by a skilled artist makes a keen argument for the power of texture, form, and the various shades of green that abound at this time of the year. A few years ago I planted this specimen – one of several in a row bordering our back patio – and after some serious pampering they have grown into a fine little hedge.
The daffodils held on longer than any season in recent memory, thanks to a cool, wet spring, lasting well into the end of May. It almost got to the point where I was taking them for granted, which never happens with their typically-short flowering period.
We have several large stands of Solomon’s seal, one of the stalwart performers in the mostly semi-shaded green sections we have near the house. It spreads nicely, sometimes too nicely, and may need some editing, but that makes for more clumps. From one plant we now have three large patches, and several friends have started their own stands from ours. I still need to cut some back, so I may be adding them to the wilder section at the side of our house that we never quite get to clean up.
Though they’ve become a bit of a menace in the lawn, these violets make it difficult to be completely mad at them, especially when they are one of the first to appear after a long winter.
This tree peony is the first peony to flower every year. Sadly, its head swells so large and the bloom gets so top-heavy it cannot stand upright on its own, which means it gets a rather hidden location, and hangs its head when it puts on its show. For that reason I often pick it before the critters can cut it out or it hangs into the muddy ground.
Finally, our Kwanzan cherry made a stand-out showing this year, lasting longer than usual and wowing with these full double blooms, resplendent against a blue sky. This is why spring gets all the glory.
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