That is just one example of what can happen when a simple tweaking can take on a life of its own and grow into something much larger than originally intended.  So it is in the garden as well.

 Last fall, during the season end clearance sales, we purchased the cutleaf Japanese maple (Acer palatum dissectum Inabe Shidare) we had both been wanting for many years. Purchasing it was the easy part. Once we got it home, the discussions began on where to plant it. Let’s just say the only thing we did agree on was the maple would be planted in the back garden where we spend most of our time and could therefore fully enjoy it.

 We began the process of trying to agree on its final home by moving the small tree (still in its pot) around the yard. Agreement didn’t happen. So imagine my surprise when I came home from work a few weeks later to find that the maple had been planted! As a result, this spring we will be moving a Dwarf Korean lilac (Syringa patula) standard, several Stella D’Oro plants, three hibiscus, some rocks and, some boulders. Plus we will need to widen and re-shape the bed! The yew can stay where it is.

 All that work because of one little tree!  I shudder to think of will come about when I add to the perennial bed.

The pussywillows are starting! Another sure sign of Spring!

What gardener’s heart does not leap for joy when the calendar is turned to March? The mere act of turning the page of a calendar to March is exciting as it signals the beginning of the end of winter. Though we in northern climates know there will be more snow coming before we can finally shrug off our winter coats, exchange our winters boots for our Wellies and our mitts for garden gloves we now have reason to hope.

The past few days have been warm (for March in S-W Ontario) and even better, sunny!!! Making the temptation to rush outside and begin cleaning up the gardens very hard to resist. But resist we must to prevent damage to our gardens. It is a bit too early to begin removing mulch, pruning or deadheading the flower stalks we left last winter (for the birds, not because we were too lazy to cut them back).

To alleviate the cravings of getting our hands dirty, working in the soil, tending plants, we must find alternatives. In our house, the last few days have been spent cleaning and trimming houseplants, cleaning the lighted plant stand and, starting seeds. I have begun fertilizing at half strength, the houseplants that are showing new growth. As we get closer to May, I will make the fertilizer solutions stronger every two weeks until the plants are ready for full strength solutions.

As for the outside, if this beautiful weather persists, I may wash the few containers I did not get cleaned up last fall so they will be ready for planting in May. There is some debris to be picked up. As long as I know I won’t damage the lawn or the gardens by walking on them when they are so wet, the debris blown into the yard by cold winter winds will be gone.

On a professional note, the selection of our Summer Crew has begun and we are gearing up for another gardening season. And, as I do every year, I say I can’t wait to get back to work, all the while thinking how nice it would be only having to tend my own gardens. But, that’s a luxury I’m saving for a few years yet.

A few of the new shrubs waiting to be heeled in

The Shade Garden awaiting repairs and changes

Like it or not, I’ve been given the challenge of renovating our shade garden. Some changes were inevitable. I knew that. But little did I realize just how many changes were in store!

Our tiny village has finally installed a municipal sewage system and every house and business is being hooked into it. This past week, it was our turn.

Down came the board fence and gate. We were told the contractor would be here on Friday so I had planned to remove plants growing along the path of the sewer mains on Thursday evening. Upon returning home from work on Wednesday I discovered the contractor in the process of digging up our side yard. So of course I had to go straight to work removing the plants I wanted to save. When that task was completed, I headed indoors for the longed for cup of tea I hadn’t had yet. No sooner did I get the pot of tea made, when a knock on the door brought the news that more plants had to come out. Back to the digging!

To make a long story short, two thirds of the plants were removed, the grass torn up, and a pile of soil spanning the width of the shady side yard sits waiting to be levelled. Some plants are gone for good. Some damaged to the point where a lot of TLC is required to help them recover.

On the plus side, the weeds are gone, some of the perennials have been divided giving me more plants, the bed has been widened and more soil has been added to it.

Yesterday morning, the mosquitoes and I re-planted the shade garden without much thought as to placement of the plants.  I did consider height, width and foliage colours before plopping the plants in the ground, but so great was my desire to avoid becoming a banquet for every mosquito in the village, form and texture became unimportant. Talk about off the cuff landscape design!

It will be interesting to see which plants will survive the rough treatment they experienced and how the garden looks once things have settled. No doubt this fall will see a great deal of tweaking in the shade garden. Probably next spring will bring even more tweaking,

The front yard is also a mess, but not nearly as bad as the shade garden in the side yard. Some lavender plants were damaged, the back sides of the variegated willow standards were shorn off and the small lawn has been made smaller thanks to more mounds of dirt that trace the path of the sewer pipes to the road. The front garden should be fairly easy to restore, and the willows, being willows will come back quickly.

On that note, I’m off to join the mosquitoes and continue the garden repairs.

New Dawn preparing to flower

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful here! Sunny, warm (over 50F), a few clouds now and then, a good breeze to help dry the soil. Amazing for early March!

A tour of our garden revealed many surprises. Tulips, daffodils, narcissus and Siberian irises are all peaking through the soil. Under the mulch of leaves, perennials were greening up in anticipation of more warm days ahead. The buds on the trees, especially the maple, are beginning to swell. All signs of what’s to come.

A very nice surprise came when the roses and chestnut showed no signs of being winter pruned by our resident rabbits. I think we can in part, thank the large bird population in our garden who, are very messy eaters. They spill as much bird feed on the ground as they eat, I swear! And the rabbits eat the spillings.

Not so nice is all the litter that has been buried under the snow. Why people cannot throw their garbage into a trash can is beyond me! Pop cans, drink cups, chip bags, papers all scattered around the property.  The other nasty, we found are the land mines left by dogs. Poop and scoop is a foreign concept to some of the dog owners here. But, I’m not getting into all of that!

Since it is just the first week of March, I resisted the temptation to begin the garden clean up. The mulch was left in place and shrubs were left un-pruned as I know more cold weather, and snow, will come. One thing I did do, and it broke my heart to do it, was cut back our “New Dawn” climbing rose. Yes, my pretty climber that reached over the porch roof, is now a mere ten inches high. Why you ask? Read on!

The rose has to be moved to allow easier (and safer) access to the porch which will be undergoing some renovations this year. In preparation for that move, I took the precautionary measure of cutting it back before its leaves began to sprout. In theory, having less growth to maintain will make transplanting easier on the rose. When it is moved to its new home, the rose can concentrate its energy on developing new roots, rather than dividing its energy between new roots, new leaves and flower buds. It will likely be sometime in April before the “New Dawn” is transplanted.  I will wait until I know it has just broken dormancy, as evidenced by the swelling buds of this year’s leaves.

All in all, yesterday was a delightful taste of spring. A kind of day that gets the inspiration and imagination going, A taste of warmer days ahead and another gardening season that will be full of colour, fragrance and beauty.

Enlarging a garden bed

Suckers to be trimmed.