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The
Plays |
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Spring
- Summer -
Autumn/Winter |
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The
Spring Garden |
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Stirring
impatiently, the Spring Garden brings old friends to me. |
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| Spring
is, of course, the season of renewal. It is a time of
expectation and reward, but it can also be a time of
disappointment and loss. I wait expectantly for long-time
acquaintances in the garden to reappear. I will spot the
first blush of red in a Missouri Primrose or the swelling of
buds along the brown canes of roses, and I'll know these
survivors will once again be enjoyed in the warm days to come.
At right is the three-tiered rocky area in
late spring, 2009. Click here
for a close up view of the photo.
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| In the early Spring, the
garden lies dormant under a layer of marsh hay. My first
job always is to remove it and also the soil mounded over the
rose crowns. I will spend a few weeks meticulously
cleaning the beds literally on hands and knees.
Some portions of the garden will be readied for planting,
particularly where cool weather plants, such as larkspur, will be grown.
Plants ordered from catalogues begin to arrive about the third
week of April. This is always a fragile time, balancing
the needs of the plants with nature's vagaries. Will it be
too hot or cold? The plants won't wait to find out. |
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Dianthus
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| The real work of the Spring garden
begins in May, after the last threat of frost has passed. I will
prepare the soil, using a simple combination of animal manure and peat
moss. I really must emphasize that I am not a horticulturalist,
although much of what I do in the garden now is like a science.
What I know, I've learned from reading and experimenting with
plants.
I will make treks to local nurseries and
to the Farmer's Markets, always looking for the unusual plants
that I would like to try, like this hard to find purple Salvia
greggii to the right (a personal favorite!). |
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Salvia
greggii
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2009
Spring Garden Photos |
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Below are photos from Spring, 2009.
Click on the name of the plant for a link to a larger, more detailed
photo. |
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