Crazy-Time
04/09/2010
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!)
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!
Posted by: margene | 04/09/2010 at 02:31 PM
Woo Hoo!
I love lawn violets!
xo
Posted by: Cookie | 04/09/2010 at 04:36 PM
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...
Posted by: kmkat | 04/09/2010 at 05:09 PM
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.
Posted by: Vicki | 04/09/2010 at 05:33 PM
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.
Posted by: Brenda | 04/09/2010 at 08:01 PM
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.
Posted by: Carol | 04/10/2010 at 06:51 AM
Thank you for the beautiful photos!
Posted by: Diana Troldahl | 04/10/2010 at 06:44 PM
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.
Posted by: Marilyn | 04/12/2010 at 09:33 AM
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
Posted by: Nancy | 04/12/2010 at 11:32 AM