The area at the base of the linden needed some love, and some annual spring maintenance was needed. The plastic needed cutting away, and it needed cleaning up. Last weekend I got at that. The plastic got cut way back, and all the suckers on the tree (within reach) got removed. Enjoy, linden!
The cadence of the garden continues. It is now tree seedling plucking time. Maples of different types, linden, and cherry. This year does seem lighter. Our Amur Maple threw a lot of seed, but not as much as I remember. I am thinking the squirrels harvested a lot. And now we will not have it going forward. We lost it in the big ice and heavy snow storm. I am tempted to save one seedling. We will see.
Usually I get seven buckets like this. I doubt we will have more than two this year.
Just about the time each year that I am plucking tree seedlings, the pines begin to show new growth (candles). I noticed today they are starting.
And the forget-me-nots are starting to bloom. They bloom on last year’s growth – they are biennial. I planted them the year my father-in-law passed, and they bring me great joy.
I am careful to keep them contained, as, like the joy they bring, they can take over a garden and move onto a lawn.
And today I moved the purple shamrock out from the protection of the patio, to it’s summer spot under the linden.
I am ready, and I know that after it goes through it’s normal transformation to being used to the outdoors, it will again look like this
Finally, it is time, I suppose, to cut the plastic back again from the base of the linden. She is so much bigger every year. I have toyed with moving to mulch in that area. Maybe next year. For a mulch garden spruce up at the historic cemetery is where I landed for my “all summer” project. But that will be a story for a different day.
19 years ago when the trees were planted here we watched as a tiny unknown tree was planted off to a corner of the house. We watered it consistently that first year and it survived the warm weather planting. It grew the next year and the next year. We identified it as a linden. We enjoyed it’s growing canopy. And we paid to have landscaping put around it because the lawn maintenance provider was cutting into the base each week with their trimmers.
That linden is so healthy. It provides wonderful shade. One day last summer our son and daughter-in-law stopped by unexpectedly with our baby grandson. I was covered in sweat from gardening. They didn’t care. We sat down under the linden’s shade and they asked if I wanted to hold him. Of course I did! Later my daughter in law sent me a picture – Gramma in her element, holding her first Grandbaby, all sweaty from gardening, sitting under the linden. A glorious, unexpected blessing!
Once again, that linden has outgrown it’s digs. It needs the landscape fabric and rock pulled back again, as I do every year. It’s base looks strong – a lot like the thousands of trees up north that have seen decades of wind and ice and snow piled high, and also drought. It deserves to have the continual protection from the landscape trimmers, but this year I am tempted to pull a lot of the rock, put that rock in sparcely rocked places throughout the garden, and put mulch in that area by the linden.
Wait! Didn’t I say we weren’t doing any improvements this year? Sit tight oh garden nurturer. I will try. Honestly I will.
Susan's Daily Garden 