Our Garden is "Springing" Into Action

Our garden is bursting with lots of shoots, sprigs and all sorts of emerging leaf stock. Taking a walk around we can see hosta shoots, cat mint, artemesia, ground phlox, lilies (day, easter and oriental), herbs, peonies, iris (bearded and siberian), coreopsis, sedum, canterbury bells and so much more....this is an exciting time of the year as the perennials come to life.

As you can see the garden is getting ready to do wonderful things...the alpine strawberries are showing lots of green. We are looking forward to loads of tiny sweet berries...a nice treat to eat while walking through the garden....though the chipmunks usually beats us to them. One of the cutest things to watch is a chipmunk sitting on his hind legs while holding a strawberry eating away...absolutely adorable.

The garlic is doing well...lots of green spikes showing. garlic is a heavy feeder so we use manure to satisfy that appetite. The results of the fall planting look like we will have another bumper crop. If you have never tried homegrown garlic you really should give it a try. My father taught me how to grow it and it is one lesson I will never forget. It beats store bought for flavor by a wide mile! It is easy to grow, tend and harvest. I'll discuss it again later in the season....

Also it is almost time to take the Agapanthus Africanus, commonly known as Lily of the Nile or African Lily outside to the greenhouse. This is one plant that here in New England must be wintered over inside due to cold temps. It requires little attention, just a little water and indirect sunlight. Once March comes it is time to start feeding and a liquid fertilizer is just fine. As you can see it wintered over well...we hope to be treated to loads of big blue flowers throughout the summer...we leave them right in the pots as they like to be cramped and produce well this way.

I took loads of pictures of emerging perennials yesterday and will share them over the next few days.

Happy Spring,

Elizabeth