A friend recently asked about this plant in my garden, and I couldn’t think of the name. But can you blame me? How am I supposed to keep track of all these things I buy and plant willy nilly. I figure it’s better than letting them go distressed as I wring my hands worrying about the perfect site. Am I alone on this front? Or is just this part of that ten thousand count–wherein gardeners buy and have no idea where they’re going to plant? I strive to be better. But I am not.
Usually, March is a month for noses pressed to windows, impatiently waiting until it’s warm enough, dry enough, late enough to get out there with a shovel and start the frenzied rush of spring chores.
Spring’s early arrival in the Pacific Northwest changed the pace of my spring gardening. Cutting back and raking up remnants of fall happened at a leisurely pace in short sleeves. Last possible frost dates be damned, the tender plants have been hauled out into the garden for weeks now.
No need to wait for the soil to warm up before ordering a fresh load of compost. No need to rush to spread the compost before rain showers weighed it down and carried a compost-y river down the gutter.
Soil is workable and it was easy enough to get planting early. Maybe too easy. Early digging does pose some extra risk of cutting into something that’s still sleeping. Fortunately, those incidents were few and far between.
This is a new spring experience for us here. Where are the drippy days with soil too muddy to work? Is this what it feels like to live in California? (more…)
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