notes and musings from a perennial gardener
The Main Buzz
In these difficult times, I don’t have to tell you that not everything goes as planned– and that applies to gardening too. I’ve been outside checking to see what’s coming up, what’s been nibbled or dug up, and for one reason or another, didn’t survive. It turns out this year was especially hard on many plants.
I once received a greeting card that said, “Every pan is a no-stick pan if you no-cook in it!” Actually I love to cook, but you get it. Here’s my co-opted garden version:
“Every bothersome plant is no bother at all if you don’t plant it!”
Weeds aside, every gardener can name a few cultivars they aren’t particularly fond of, and some are downright despised. I’m no exception. Of course there’s no right or wrong about this; everyone is entitled to their own tastes, positive and negative.
With the recent warm spell, aconite, crocus, snowdrops and hellebores are springing forth in all their lovely glory. I do hope you’ve had a chance to glimpse the early risers up close and personal. They are so fleeting we have to make the effort to appreciate them before they fade away or get zapped by freezing temps.
The squirrels found and ate all the snowdrop bulbs I planted last fall, but they did let my “tommy” crocus alone. Crocus tommasinianus are the only crocus species that squirrels are not as likely to dig up, so I didn’t even attempt others. I learned the hard way years ago that trying to grow crocus with squirrels around is a losing combination — for me, that is.