spring has sprung

It seems like it was only a couple a weeks ago when I was fretting over an early spring yard. The only signs of life were the hellebores. I wondered if anything was going to come back. Now I can’t even find the hellebores. This past weekend, while Pat was planting new stuff in pots and rearranging the nursery, I was digging out overcrowded plants. Our neighbor is now the proud owner of a dozen 3 foot tall ligularia plants. As a rule, Pat and I do not dead head our perennials. I am basically lazy and it seems like so much work. I do cut down old daylily and hosta stalks, but that is about it. We prefer to let the birds get the seeds and any self-seeding is a bonus. When we had a lot of empty between plants this seemed like a good idea. Everybody was a winner. We got extra plants, I got to take cool winter pictures and the birds got some extra food. Last year we still had some empty, this year, not so much. In the past if a small plant was threatened by encroachment it was easier to move the plant than worry about the encroachment. This year our big hostas bumped up against ferns and ligularia run rampant. Or was it the other way around, since hosta don’t move real fast and rampant expansionism are not usually associated with them? I’m not moving these guys. They are just too big. How does one person move a hosta that is 3 ft. tall and 5-6 ft. wide? Besides, I have a garden box to build and more plants to get. The ferns and ligularia had to go. Now I know you probably heard their cries as I was digging them up, but I assure you, they all have good homes; some are even in our yard.

You can see how the ligularia is crowding out Big Blue

Now Big Blue has some breathing room.

We finally decided upon a 4 ft. by 8 ft. garden box 18 in. tall. It will complement the tomatoes and peppers we grow in pots. We put a grid pattern over the garden box to give us an idea where to place the plants. We are interspersing flowers among the vegetables. About the time we need to either contact the UFW or rent a combine (I really am a city kid), we’ll make a decision about adding another box. I think we can turn this thing into a cold frame with a little work. I want to thank NikkiJabbour at year round veggie gardener for her advice. We made the box out of manufactured wood made from recycled plastic and wood products. Her blog is a great read, so if you haven’t visited, give it a try. Bangchik at my little vegetable garden has a great blog for flower and vegetable gardening ideas, so visit if you haven’t. It seems that the people I read also read the people I read. It’s kind of eerie, but just in case, I recommend these two blogs. Well I have to get a pair of bib overalls. I can hear it now. Green Acres is the place to be….

Our gardening season is already a success. Look at the pumpkin plants growing from the pumpkin we let go to seed over the winter. We have moved plants around because who knew it would get so big. I thought that semis filled with pumpkins left them on farmers fields after aliens made mazes and designs on their fields. The day lilies stay until they finish blooming.