The robins are starting to build their nests. And it is consistently around 40 F or above now for lows. It is time for the shamrocks to go back outside. The robins will clean them up and use the dead material for their nests.
This is always a tough call for me. The shamrocks have been inside all winter and have good form, but their leaves are also forming a mat in the middle. To pluck that all out without bending the tender stems is tough. Plus, dead leaves encourage gnats – ugghhh.
When I look out and see their new “outdoor transition” state, I remind myself it is all good. Soon they will be all cleaned up and growing new leaves and flower stems and will be in a much better state.
If gardens have dreams, I wish ours the sweetest. Yesterday I cut back the last of our small hostas at the townhome, along with the short sedum, and a few daylily greens. It is now full slumber time approaching for those gardens. Today I cut back the remaining hostas, some irises, some very small sedum, and some daylilies at the historic garden. Again today, all the people who came by in the short hour I was there were so thankful and kind. Do gardens positively add to quality of life? Absolutely! Tonight, I mostly have a sense of “well done”, personally and for all who helped, and I have very fond memories of a very full garden season. I am a bit sad. It will be six months until the garden pops again. But it was a wonderful good garden season this year. And for that I am thankful.
To have fun until the forced bulbs start to push up and until it is time to plant the well over 100 seeds from the daylily crosses I did this year, I have started an indoor garden, on either side of my office desk.
The purple shamrocks I divided and I thought I killed – nope. Back in full force. And the green shamrocks I thought I accidentally froze out and was going to divide like the purple shamrocks – back in full force. Tonight the shamrocks rest but tomorrow they will be back open. I am also going to try to get the orchid to bloom. Fingers crossed.
Tomorrow is Veteran’s Day. Most sincere thanks to all who have served so selflessly. Your service is genuinely appreciated.
We have two fairly good-sized shamrock plants in pots here. Most summers they can be seen in the area under the linden. One is purple and one is green.
Every fall I bring them into the house, and they eventually go into my office. They give me all-winter mini flowers, and occasionally I hear rustling in late fall from a ladybug who made it in with the shamrocks, usually the purple one.
I cannot say how long I have had the Shamrocks. Probably close to, if not over 15 years now. I remember buying them one St. Patrick’s season, at the grocery store across town. They were in those tiny 3-4″ pots, and very inexpensive. I thought it would be “fun” 😊 My husband and our younger son teased that Yes! We definitely needed more plants! Hahaha!
I have given divisions to other people and they haven’t done well. But those two shamrocks are very healthy here.
There have been years where I have been sooooo looking to get the shamrocks back outside. This year is not one of them. They are very happy inside this year.
But alas! They are part of the ecosystem here. In the spring they go out, and the robins pluck the dead stuff for their nests. Eventually the wind gets to them, and all the leaves die back, and then it is just soil until they grow back and fill in stronger than ever.
It looks like the robins are starting to pair up. I am thinking they will be starting to build their nests soon. The bird bath should go out today so they can have water to make mud, and the shamrocks could go out next week after our forecasted cool and rainy weekend.
When we do move them out, I will miss them in my office, but they are starting to get that “good material for birds nests” look. Yes, I put some egg shells in there. Another post about those on the way.
This past weekend I finally felt comfortable putting the shamrock plants out. The are kind of a fixture in the summer garden. The purple one especially draws the eye all the way to the end of the linden garden area.
Since we live in Minnesota, the shamrocks make their late fall to mid-spring home indoors. The night-time temperatures need to be around 40°F outdoors before they can go out in the spring. This year that was late. But they are out now, and the cycle for spring shamrock cleanup has begun. You see, every spring when I finally feel comfortable putting the shamrocks out, I am happy, and sad. Happy because the mat of dead stems that is hard to clear amongst the fragile live stems gets kind of “ugly” by May, and sad because the beautiful live shamrocks will get windblown, die back, and then take a few weeks to get their summer “coat”.
The wonderful part is what I saw first hand today as a robin flew back and forth between the purple shamrock and a nearby pine tree, plucking first big sections of the dead stem mat, and then finishing by plucking tangled remaining dead stems. It happens every year. And it makes my gardener/bird lover heart smile.
Can you see the robin? Another sat nearby and flew right behind over to the new nest location. I am assuming that is one of the pairs we saw “mating” in the past week.
We have two large pots of shamrocks I have over-wintered for years. I bought them as tiny potted plants at St. Patrick’s Day. They grew, and grew, and grew. I divided them and gave some away. Finally I decided the pots were the perfect size, and that’s what we have had for years.
The purple shamrocks are especially pretty in the garden. The leaves and flowers get so full they cascade over the side of the pot. It is quite a treat.
The green shamrock can be seen next to the magenta asian lilies.
Susan's Daily Garden 