Spring is, for me, one of the favourite times of the year. Nearly everything in the garden is or has been in bloom, with almost no effort on my part.
This why I enjoy sitting watching the rivers flow by, something I don’t have to push. When I grew up just outside Copenhagen, Denmark, my parents had bought a row house with a front and a back garden; it was there I learned gardening from an early age.
The rest of the families lived in apartments, sometimes not even able to enjoy the sunshine. Yes, gardening is hard work and can at times be demanding, but so it is with lots of things worthwhile.
Last night before supper, I took my weeding tool for a walk when I discovered several dandelions were trying to make a comeback, but it was short-lived. I was once told the dandelion flower could produce a thousand seeds each.
On that topic, if you decide to break new ground especially with the vegetable garden or rototill extra deep with a tractor, you could experience a lot of weeds coming alive. The reason for this is some seeds can be dormant in the soil for thirty years.
My climbing roses last summer had several branches with blooms, didn’t like the winter. When I carefully removed the leaves I had covered the base of the rose bushes, I noticed some new growth, so maybe they will come back.
If this has happened to you, prune away the deadwood to just about where it turns green.
How soon can we plant the annuals in the flower beds? Unfortunately, there is no precise answer. I believe what we are guided by is the night temperature. I once planted too early, and the result was I was forced to dig the plants up and put them back inside. The plants had a setback for fourteen days.
The clematises have started flowering, so it might be a good idea to give those next to the house some water to provide them with a good start.
When checking my raspberries, I noted some winter damage; I had to cut several dead canes out; many canes had lost the top buds, so I pruned those down to the next live bud.
By the way, it is a lot easier to weed the raspberries now than wait until the leaves block the view; it makes the weeding only possible in kneeling position; not my choice anymore.
My strawberry has started to flower, so I laid out the soaker hose to water them as well as currant bushes.
I pulled the first rhubarb the other day after cooking them mixed them with the strawberries from the freezer. When you see a rhubarb stock set out flowers, cut it out, as the flower takes strength away from producing the rhubarb; part of it is edible.
If you have questions or suggestions for topics, please email me at e.jacobsen85@yahoo.com