Wednesday, March 1, 2017

March 1, A New Record ? !

There were a couple of very excited gardeners here this morning.  For March 1 in upstate New York, it was warm and balmy.  We decided to get ready and head down to play in the garden by the road.  It took us a while to get everything together.  Where did I put my favorite nippers last fall anyway?  By the time we were all ready to go out it began to rain!  I was crestfallen, but we decided to take the truck for a ride to visit the back. By the time we got back there the rain let up. We had a fabulous time  in the woods.  I saw a flock of bluebirds and that was fantastic. While we were back there the rain stopped, but the wind was picking up.  Our original plan seemed within reach so we made a pit stop at the house then headed down the lane to garden by the road.


A walk around inspection tour of the plants no longer covered by snow was first.  These foxglove plants flourished under the snow cover. They look terrific for now!


One thing we have discovered about this garden bed is that almost everything grows like Jack's beanstalk.   Here are three Dame's Rocket plants.  We love the flowers but these plants fill  the picture now and  will be gigantic later.  Ed will need his pry bar  and determination to tackle them.  They are definitely not the project for today!


The green tips of King Alfred daffodils are a welcome sight.  Just thinking about those bright yellow flowers makes me happy!  But what about today's fun?


Here is a close look at one of Ed's Autumn Joy sedums.  The time for cutting these plants back is right NOW!  It's a good thing I found those nippers!  Ed removed the cages and we worked side by side.  The idea was to cut back the dead stalks before the green shoots get bigger.  Ed dug out any weeds near the sedums muttering about the quack grass sneaking in from next door.
                                                                         

As we worked the wind was picking up.  Ed had to chase his hat several times and the trugs kept blowing over.  I'm a little rusty using my garden cart, but I only did one wheelie and I did not end up on the ground.


Now that's what I call progress! We finished the entire row of sedum plants.


When our mail was delivered, our mail carrier remarked, " In the garden on March 1, isn't that a new record!"  Maybe, but  we got a glimpse of spring and we grabbed the chance to enjoy it!  We knew it must be time for lunch.  Ed cut back just one Siberian iris and then we headed back up the lane to the house.

The rest of the first day of March featured rain, thunder, winds, plummeting temperatures and finally some snow  but we had a glorious morning!

2 comments:

Ed said...

The three Dame's Rocket plants were transplanted here last year. Since they have a massive taproot, moving them frequently fails. That was not the case in this deep rich soil. We will need to remove seed heads or this plant will take over a large area.

Indie said...

I can't believe how warm it's been! The earliest bulbs have started blooming, and things are starting to come up. My garden could desperately use some cleanup. I need to get my anti-tick gardening outfit prepared!