Weird summer ahead.
I don’t know what to make of what’s happening in my yard this year. This has been the nicest spring I can recall in my 25 years in Wisconsin, and as a result, some odd things are happening.
The bleeding hearts bloomed earlier than usual, with only a fraction of the blooms they sported last year. The raspberries are ahead of schedule, too; they’re well on their way to setting fruit. Since I picked last year’s first berry on the Fourth of July, I’m expecting an early harvest. The pitiful little herb garden I started next to the patio looked abysmal last year, so I had every intent of clearing it all out and planting perennials. But the sage, thyme, oregano and pineapple mint confounded me utterly by forming lovely low mounds too pretty to fiddle with. The thyme is blooming, so I guess I should cut that back; I’ve already hacked away at the oregano and bundled up the cuttings to dry. (Oregano lovers, beware; you have to watch this stuff. It’ll spread like a weed if you’re not careful, and the one batch I allowed to survive was crowding the columbines something awful.)
It’ll be fun to watch summer unfold. I’m glad this is the year I decided to start keeping track of things. It may be another quarter-century before we have another spring as splendid as this one.
Posted on Monday, May 24th, 2010 at 5:54 pm. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Nance says:
It’s supposed to be 87 degrees here Sunday, and after a couple weeks of rain, everything looks greener than Ireland. But I’m wondering if, in another month, we’re going to be broiling and frying. It just feels way too early for this.
Posted at May 28th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Judybusy says:
It’s been crazy, hasn’t it? For the most part, I’ve loved it. One casuality were my lupines. Aphids came hard and early, really limiting the number of blooms. Now I know to search early during warm springs and spray that soapy water! Also, some of my peonies bloomed and fried within a day or two, thanks to a 95 degree spike. Last June, when they and the lupines and oriental poppies were blooming, they lasted for nearly two weeks with cool weather.
How do I know this? I keep a garden journal. It’s super mundane for anyone but me, but I write in it to keep track of when I do what, the weather, etc, etc. But I have time and love the act of writing, so it’s not for everyone! I re-read it, and it helps me remember my cool plantng ideas, or to order mini bulbs, etc.
I would love to see more pictures of your garden, especially long shot to better envision it.
Posted at June 1st, 2010 at 9:49 am
tt says:
Judybusy, I’ve always thought a garden journal was a great idea. That’s one reason I’m keeping this silly blog going. It was a good year to start, that’s for sure. My daylilies are about to pop, and they NEVER bloom before the Fourth of July!
More pictures to come but, sadly, a single long shot won’t do it. My yard is ridiculous.
Posted at June 1st, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Judybusy says:
Due due my poor typing, you thought I was asking for a single shot! No, feel free to fire away as many as it takes. (I’m sure, like us all, you have ample time…) I look forward to them!
Posted at June 2nd, 2010 at 3:13 pm