In my over-excitement to get my gardens ready for the summer, I almost neglected to pay attention to the calendar. And my memories of the springs where I’ve been teased to believe it was safe to plant flowers and then it froze. Froze hard. And they all died an early season’s death.
Not this year, so far, that is. The perennial irises, hostas, tiger lilies, daylilies, chives and bleeding hearts are coming up fine all on their own. Don’t judge, it’s a weird mix of flowers, I just let the strong survive and work around them.
As I was putting new black dirt on the garden beds, I had to keep reminding myself to avoid the tease of nice weather. The dirt was gloriously black and nutrient-rich, just begging for plants to join it. Mr. sure can pick nice dirt.
We’ve had frost as late as June 14th. That’s over a month from now, so it is too early to plant seeds and annuals outside. But it was 80 degrees yesterday. And it was so nice.
Nice enough to wear shorts. Me, as I pulled on a pair, “Oh, yeah, to you a dearest tease of spring, I’ll give you a moment or two as I flaunt my white trunks of legs that haven’t seen daylight since last summer.” Actually, it was hot, so they were a sweat relieving necessity. But I digress.
Jeez…
It’s just a weather tease. Tease. Tease. Tease.
I kept being tempted to plant my flower seeds as I revived every flower bed with new dirt. The rich soil is provoking…seeds should be planted. But I resisted, and it’s a good thing.
Yep, avoiding the tease was exactly the right thing to do.
A wise man stopped by to see my gardens yesterday and told me, “See that catalpa tree over there?”
Me: “Yes, why?”
Wise Man: “Do you see any leaves on it?”
Me, quickly glancing to scan the rest of the yard. Compared to the maple tree next to it, nope.
And, nope, not compared to the flowering crab tree either.
Me (feeling confident I knew what I was talking about): “Nope, why does that matter?”
Wise Man: “Because that tree will tell you when it is safe to plant flowers. When the leaves start to form, it knows that frost is past us and it is safe to plant flowers.”
Me: “Good to know. I was tempted to plant today, but had a hunch it was, too early.”
Wise Man: “Yep, it’s too early. Just watch the tree. Then plant.”
And there you have it, the Wise Man spoke his words of garden wisdom. And I shall wait. In the meantime, I’ll watch the perennials come up on their own without much coaching from me. They are happy to have the new black dirt surrounding their leaves as they uncover and tease their way through the rich soil.
They’re popping up to greet the sun and the dew this morning. A perfect opportunity for a quick adventure outside to capture nature doing its spring dance. Oh, and my sidekick Copper was right there with me. He’s so cute – he loves our morning photo sessions. We’ll take advantage of the warmer weather as we wait for the time to plant. Early morning sun teases are our favorite time of the day.
Happy Monday All!
I have done that too, planted too early and had to pull the sheets off of the beds upstairs to cover everything up. Friends of ours don’t transplant until the lilacs bloom so I have taken their advice and will wait until then.
Bummer, I’ve tried to do the sheet trick once, too, and the plants didn’t survive either. Oh, yes, lilacs blooming is a good sign too! I forgot that one. Thank you for sharing!
We all do it! Here in U.K. temperature is nearly 80F today but from tomorrow it will be 58F. Everything I’ve planted could disappear
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you that your plants survive!
too funny. I remember those days. Sure looks ready, and pretty. Cant wait to see your yard in bloom.
LOL! Thanks for stopping by. I’m anxious to see what it looks like too! 🙂 But first…I better get some bubbles to play with too!
It’s a good thing you have some signs of the best time to plant. I am excited for you!
Thank you, Winnie! Hope the wise old tales are true! :-)!
You’re welcome, Shelley! Better to follow the wise old tales than be sorry 🙂
Me too!