3 Words - I LOVE SPRING

And who wouldn’t? After staring out the window all winter at nothing but bare ground, barren trees and hundreds of lonely hosta labels, spring is glorious! In a matter of weeks, the landscape is transformed into a green paradise of budding trees, flowering shrubs, perennials popping up everywhere, and spring ephemerals and wildflowers in bloom. Every spring I’m amazed at this miracle of nature. I spend hours just walking around my garden to see what’s changed every few days. I’ll post photos some of this week’s blooms.

Of course, spring means a lot of work too. Hungry hostas require feeding just as soon as they break through the ground. And all those slug eggs that have been dormant underground during the winter start hatching and looking food. You know what that means - food = your hostas!!

I spread a basic 10-10-10 fertilizer - NOT the timed release type. I use that later. Right now, the plants need a good shot of energy and the 10-10-10 will provide that. I also spread slug pellets. I use an environmental friendly and pet friendly type that works pretty well. Here are photos of the type of fertilizer and slug prevention I like. Be sure to read the labels and only use as directed on the label.

Eagerly Anticipating New 2021 Hostas

Some of last year’s new plants

First Flowers of 2021

Bear discovered the first snowdrops

February 28, 2021

It’s the last day of February. In less than 2 months, the garden will start coming alive again. As I look outside right now, all I see is snow and naked shrubs sticking out of the snow. Oh, of course I also see hundreds of hosta labels. This always reminds me of how diligent I was las fall, trying to catch up with my labeling. There are a few I’ve missed or maybe I just don’t know what they are. My inventory is good, but not perfect. My 6-page list of hostas has many names in red. That’s my inventory code for “I know I have this hosta but I can’t find it”. I’ve moved things around over the years and while I’m pretty good at making notes, I do have trouble keeping up sometimes. My hosta collection is around 626 different varieties now, and I find it impossible to ever be completely accurate.

Last year, 2020, was my year to get organized and catch up on garden tasks that I never have time to do. All garden walks, and outdoor parties were cancelled. I was planning a big 20th anniversary garden party, along with a couple of large hosta walks I’d been asked to participate in. Aside from being super disappointed about the anniversary party, I was actually relieved the walks were cancelled. I didn’t have to drive myself crazy working in the garden, making sure all was perfect. It never is perfect, but I always get stressed out trying to make it perfect. Instead, I was free to dig up plants and move them, try different things I’d been contemplating and allow my garden to be messy for a change. It was great!

Right now, I’m trying to update my website. I’ve been very bad about that. I added the names of all my new plants and over the next few weeks, I plan to add lots of new photos. Last year I took a ton of photos. That’s a whole other organizing project. But I’m working on it. I’ll keep you posted!

Happy March!

What's Blooming in Early May?

Marsh Marigold

The Marsh Marigolds are in full bloom now and with our very cool weather, they’ll probably last awhile.

Erythonium americanum (Trout Lily)

A native wild flower, these tiny beauties pop up all over in the woods and in the middle of my gardens. Most are white but I have quite a few yellow ones too. They’re so small you have to get down on your knees to appreciate the delicate flowers.

Daffodil - Of course the daffodils are out. Every spring I tell myself to plant more daffodils in the fall -but I don’t.

What's Blooming on Easter Sunday?

Well even though we got about 3” of snow last Sunday, it melted within a day and all looks well out in the garden. I’ll have to wait until the hostas come up a bit more but I’m hoping there was no damage . Look below for a few more things blooming today…

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis). One of my favorites in the spring. These got moved around last year with our patio construction, so I wasn’t sure where to find them. The blooms don’t last very long at all but they’re so beautiful.

Squill (Scilla siberica). A tiny blue flower with a huge impact when grown in mass. We see fields of squill in our neighborhood this time of year.

Giant Butterbur (Petasites japonicus giganteus). This is a very unusual plant and I’ll be sure to post photos when it leafs out. The leaves are about 2-3’ wide and it spreads rapidly. Loves a shady damp place.

More hellebores (also called Lenten rose). I love these beauties and they will keep on blooming for a few weeks!

Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris). These aren’t quite blooming yet but they’re so interesting at all stages.

Seriously?

Okay - taxes are due tomorrow. So Mother Nature just had to throw in a little snow storm too? You’d think I’d be use to this, living in the Midwest, but sometimes it’s just a bit too much. It’s 1:32 on Sunday and still snowing hard. All I can think about is my poor little hostas… I’ll keep you posted.

What's Blooming Now?

I’ve been late in starting this year’s blog, but for the past couple of weeks, I’ve had snow drops. Just this week, I’ve seen helebores, squill and 1 tiny daffodil.

Snow Drops

Helebore

Witch Hazel

Garden Chores (What to do Now)

Once spring actually arrives, things happen quickly. Here’s what you need to get done NOW:

1. Clean up -I’m hoping you’ve already done this. It’s really important to clean up all of last year’s garden debris. I always leave a few things untrimmed - just for some ”winter interest” (that can also mean I was too lazy or tired to cut down everything last fall). Well do it now! Last week, a good friend who shall remain nameless (you know who you are) sent me a photo of her sedum, which hadn’t been cut down. It was nothing but brown stems and brown dried flowers with a little bit of green peeking up from the ground. She asked, “What do I do with this? Should I cut it down? What do I cut off?” I said, “Okay Buffy, Botany 101 - if it’s brown and dried up, it’s probably dead, so cut if off. If it’s green, it’s probably alive, so leave it alone.” (Buffy isn’t her real name, of course.) Now I’m not judging anybody - I really do have friends that are not plant people and I try to have patience. Buffy has other good qualities…

   The point is - cut down the dead brown stuff so the new green stuff can grow!

2. Feed your hostas - I don’t know where you are, but here, north of Chicago, my hostas are just starting to come up out of the ground. It’s been a long winter - they’re hungry - feed them! I use a 10-10-10 pellet fertilizer - NOT timed release. Right now they need that burst of energy. Do this again in about 3 weeks. I’ll remind you…

3. Kill the slugs - I know you can’t see them, but those eggs have been underground all winter and lots of little baby slugs are dreaming of a good meal - HOSTAS! Start your slug prevention right now with a dose of slug pellets - I use a product called “Sluggo”. Safe for birds and 4-footed critters and for the environment. I don’t push any brands, I’m just telling you what I use.

4. Clean your garden shed - If you have time, this is always a good idea, right? I know I have lots of good stuff in there - I just need to find it!!

5. Review your garden notes from last year - I know you took notes, right? How else can you possibly remember all the things that were bugging you last year and you wanted to fix…

   HAPPY SPRING!

Buffy’s sedum - she promised me she’d cut off the brown stuff!