Ten Minute Gardening

Spring is at last in full bloom in our little corner of the world. It seemed to take forever to get here, but now that it is, we are revelling in the colours and scents, warmer days, the gale force winds and pounding rains.

We have had more than our fair share of rain and high winds of late making it difficult to get into the garden, never mind mow the lawn. Somehow, gardeners, hardy lot we are, manage to find a way to putter away at our hobby in spite of Mother Nature’s attempts to confine us to the indoors.

This weekend, the seedlings will need to be transplanted. Though I started them several weeks later than usual, and cut back considerably on the number of seeds I usually plant, I foresee several hours of transplanting ahead.

Some of the spring flowering bulbs are ready for deadheading. I need not worry about a lack of colour though as I had the foresight to plant early, mid-season and late flowering bulbs. If the weather does not warm up too quickly, we should have bulbs in bloom until the end of May.

The wild violets are already done as are the spring anemone. The Star of Bethlehem has not even bloomed yet in our garden, but in a friend’s garden twenty-five kilometres north of here, they have finished blooming already. Where’s the justice? The apple and pear trees are in bud and about to burst into full bloom any day. The cherry tree is already in full colour.

Tomorrow, my job will kick into high gear as my crew starts work for the season. There are many jobs lined up already and many more to come as we travel the county sprucing up gardens, trimming trees and shrubs, building new gardens, renovating old ones. My back is aching already at the mere thought of all the work ahead! But, it is a great job and I consider myself very fortunate to be working in a field I love.

Enough chatter for this morning! I cannot justify sitting at a computer when the sun is shining, the wind has died down and the temperature is warming up quickly. It’s time to head outside and putter away in my own gardens and to get those seedlings transplanted!