The tulips I planted out front last fall came up beautifully.
A single survivor out front from years past and another bunch out back were mysteriously cut off. The ones that were cut off out back totally disappeared. Bunnies? I did see a deer wander through the neighborhood very early one morning a few years ago.
There are a few more bunches still coming up. We’ll see how they fare.
We’ve had quite a few gorgeous days in a row, and the landscape is starting to sing.
The cherry trees are starting to flower, and they smell soooo good!
The lindens finally leafed out.
And the tulips are starting to bloom.
Living in Minnesota, there are certain non-hardy plants that we bring in for the winter. We have two large shamrock plants and a very large, over 10 year old hibiscus.
About a month ago I got an inquiry – is it time to put out the shamrocks? The answer now is yes. When it is consistently above 40°F at night we put the hibiscus and both the shamrocks out. It will be sad this year because they are so full and nice indoors, and as you will see from the pictures below, the wind and sun beats them up almost immediately. We do keep them close to the house at first, but they have to make the transition. We have a small home, and everything has its season. And they do fine. As a bonus, the birds make good use of the dried stems and leaves for their nests. When they are done, the pots are very clean for the new growth. It is the circle of life, and nothing goes to waste.
With the large plants now outdoors I have space to start our seedlings for up north. Everything in its time.
Last year I saw what I thought was a daylily volunteer from our ‘Marque Moon’ trio. I pulled it originaly thinking it was grass, but then second guessed. I planted it in our garden and this spring I have been rewarded with – grass. Out it goes. Maybe the bunnies willl enjoy it on their nightly hop-through.
This past weekend we “escaped” what was supposed to be a very rainy Saturday at home and headed to see how the thaw is going up north. We brought Sandy along to walk the land for the first time. He loved every sniff, and thoroughly wore himself out.
Afterward we drove to Duluth to check out how the big lake (Superior) looked. There is still plenty of ice and snow along the shore in Canal Park.
We also learned that Sandy is not a fan of seagulls. Little dog, big noisy birds … He was ready to be done with that visit!
Back home, it is supposed to be a rainy week. I have a tough call. Some time soon I need to get the (now huge again) hibiscus back outdoors so I have room to start my seedlings for up north. The nighttime forecast is calling for temperatures just shy of 40°F all week. It will probably be next weekend until I can make that shift. It’ll be tight on time but it should still work. Up north there is still snow/rain in the forecast this week. We’re looking at around a month, maybe more, until seedlings can safely be put out up there.
All in good time.
What a difference a day, and especially two, make at this time of year. Two days ago only the cherry trees had leafed out. Today this site was common.
Yesterday our ninebarks hadn’t leafed out. Today they looked like this.
Two days ago the clematis was inches closer to the ground. Today it looked like this.
The tulip are starting to show buds. The sedum are starting to round out. The daylilies are up 4-6″. The asian lilies are popping up in back. Even the new red asian lilies I planted in front popped up overnight. And a few hostas are starting to come up. Not as many as I’m used to this time of year, and that slightly concerns me. We lost some very healthy full hostas during the 2017-2018 winter and I was at a loss as to what happened. I’m hoping it doesn’t happen again.
But almost all the daylilies are up, including one from last year’s seedlings. And THAT is very exciting.
The tulip greens are, of course, well up now. I have a “love/expect little” relationship with our tulips. Many produce abundant greens every year, but no blooms. I leave them in the ground, ever so hopeful. They are tulips that bloomed beautifully one, maybe two years, but then just fizzled out. It seems they find it very easy being just green.
Last fall, once again, I planted a large bag of tulips. I do see some up already. They are the ones poking up in front of the taller tulip greens that look like they will not have blooms again this year. We’ll see how the new ones do.
There is, however, one large bunch of purple tulips that has bloomed abundantly for over a dozen years. They are so beautiful. I just love to see them again each spring. Many many years I have shared pictures of them and friends have loved their gorgeous color. They are just starting to pop up now.
I will keep you all posted!
There is no snow in the 10 day forecast. Sandy and I took our first 1 mile walk of the season. And the cherry trees are budding out.
I think we’re a “Go” for spring this time!
Twelve days ago the tulips were the first to pop up out of the ground. They always are. It is an incredibly welcome sight.
The next day I started to see tiny bits of green in the lawn. Tiny, but unmistakable. Then I saw the one clump of iris we still have was popping up.
And the pink asian lilies were popping up.
Then the robins came to take baths. And the first hen (duck) arrived. The next day she came with the drake. Then I noticed that by 5:30 am the cardinals were already singing. And the chickadees were starting to look for the hummingbird water. And the dark-eyed junkos were flocking up. (I suspect they will be leaving soon.) And the sedum were popping up …
Today I absolutely had to have my first serious garden day. Out I went with my gloves on, to trim the sedums I left for the birds this past winter. Then I picked up the large branches that had come off the linden (very normal). I left the smaller pieces for the birds to use for their nests. They do such a nice job of cleaning up! I was cleaning up the debris around the hostas, and then I saw it … the daylilies are starting to come up!!! 10 minutes later I got a text from our son’s girlfriend. Her daylilies are coming up! Now I’m jazzed – lol ☺ Out come the garden pretties (fun decorations) – the spinners, the toads and turtles and hiking and hunting bears. The bird bath. The whole shebang!!! Spring is here!!! The garden is waking up!!!
Just as I was bringing the last item – the bird bath warmer – into the garage, the predicted rain came. Big plops. Yes! I “coffeed” section two of the four areas of the garden today. Perfect timing.
Up in northern Minnesota, not so much, yet. But that’s for another day.
Today we hit 50° F. Woohoo! Hello spring!!!
The snow is melting pretty fast. Last week we lost well over a foot within a few days. The sewers and drainage ditches were overwhelmed and the farm fields had so much water in them that they looked like lakes. When the wind got howling it looked like they had mini whitecaps!
Today I can see quite a bit more grass. We still have giant piles of snow from plowing, but where the open spaces were mostly white yesterday morning, this afternoon they are at least 50% grass. The more modest snow piles now resemble a snowy version of the Badlands instead of the Himalayas. 10 days ago we looked like this:
Soon we will see tulips and sedum starting to pop up. Today it is time for this to start going out on the gardens:
It is coffee time!
I used to buy sprinkle/pour fertilizer granules and put that on my gardens in the fall. They were “time released” so in the spring I would see them in the soil. For the past few years I have put used coffee grounds down instead. I started because it deters slugs, and I found it also deterred bunnies and did a great job of fertilizing. My plants have gone bonkers since I started doing that. They are very happy!
I start out pretty sparingly – just light sprinkles. Then when the hostas start to come up, I also put grounds lightly around each plant. I rarely have slug issues when I get started on that process early.
If the forecast holds for Saturday, I will also have my first “patio time” of the season. Some people call it “lawn chair therapy”. Either way, it is bliss!
Wait! I also just heard the first motorcycle of the season! Oh yah!!! We Minnesotans are so ready for a new season!
Susan's Daily Garden 