Crazy-Time

When I got back from my vacation last weekend, the weather in Michigan was unbelievably warm.  Unseasonably warm.  Unnaturally warm.  (Of course, things have righted themselves by now -- and it is back to near-freezing!)  I couldn't wait to get out in my garden and see what was popping up.

I saw the usual suspects for very early April: 

Daffodils. . .

 

Lenten rose. . .

 

May flower. . .

 

Forsythia. . .

 

and lawn violets (some people would call these "weeds", but not me!).

 

But I also found a lot going on that's . . . well,

Unbelievable. . .

 

Hosta crowns?  In early April?

Unseasonable. . .

 

My pear tree is about to bloom?  You must be kidding!

Unnatural. . .

 

My clematis --- thinks it's MAY!

So.  It's spring.  Crazy spring.  Fickle spring.  Now, not only can I worry about the inevitable frosts and snow still to come. . . but I can also stress because I'm already way behind in my gardening!!!  It's Crazy-Time when you're a gardener!

==========

Bright gardening notes:

#1 -- Last fall I purchased a rock-bottom-price, clearance-table blackberry bush.  But I didn't know what to do with it.  So, I went into denial, and just left it in the middle of my new garden bed.  Unplanted.  I felt guilty all winter long whenever I looked out my kitchen window.  Because there it was.  Covered with snow.  Still in its container.  Freezing.  Dead.  And even though I only paid $1.75 for it, I still felt bad that I had just. . . let it sit there.

Guess what!

 

It's a survivor!  (I still don't know where to plant it, though.)

#2 -- Trillium are one of my favorite flowers.  I always go a little crazy when I find them in the woods in May.  Last spring, I decided to try to cultivate my own little trillium grove.  I purchased a few plugs from a reputable wildflower nursery. . . and watched them wither away to nothing in my garden.

Guess what!

 

Three of these little guys are poking up!  I'm pretty sure it's my trillium.  (I'm so excited!)

Comments

[margene]

I love trillium, too. Your lenten rose is so pretty. Even though you're having cold weather I think your plants are a little bit ahead of ours. However, I don't have the beautiful garden you do...I'll be living vicariously so keep us updated!

[Cookie]

Woo Hoo!

I love lawn violets!

xo

[kmkat]

If that blackberry bush survived the winter in a pot, I'd advise you to think carefully about where you plant it permanently. Given its apparent indestructibility, it has the potential to become a thug, i.e., invasive. The wild ones are...

[Vicki]

I remember buying a "hardy asian lily" one year, stuck it (plastic nursery pot & all) inside a crock on the front porch. In fall, the pot ended up in a back yard bed, but not planted -- oh no! It was snowed on, rained on, completely frozen solid and I was sure it was a goner. Heh. You could have bowled me over come spring when I saw sprouts! I'm still nurturing lilies from that sweet little pot. Hardy, indeed.

[Brenda]

Lovely spring flowers!
Glad your trillium seem to have made it; they are such a pretty flower.
My mother, an avid gardener in Wisconsin, would argue with you about the violets. She loved them until they tried to take over an entire flower bed.

[Carol]

Same thing is happening here too. And I absolutely agree about the blackberry. Find someplace at the edge of your property where it can run into a thicket. Blackberries ARE extremely hardy - like mint.

[Diana Troldahl]

Thank you for the beautiful photos!

[Marilyn]

Beautiful flowers! It definitely is an early spring. I wonder if it will possibly last or if we'll get a nasty surprise....

The farmers here are certainly getting antsy to get going.

[Nancy]

What wonderful pictures! I grew up in Grand Rapids, MI and remember very well the great anticipation of SPRING! I now live in Southern California and spring is much different. I really enjoy reading your blog. Thanks