Although a frost or a freeze is called for this weekend, spring is in full bloom in this part of the country. Last weekend, I channeled my latent DIY spirit and made some cedar raised beds to put on the side of the house for a vegetable/cut flower garden. My husband cut the boards from cedar fence rails, and I got our 12 year old to help me screw them into place. (I'm hoping to keep her involved in the garden project.) Then we stapled some weed barrier to the bottom - a very simple structure, but it always feels good to make something yourself. The biggest expense is the cost of the dirt, because the weed barrier was from Goodwill and the cedar planks were only $4 apiece. I did fill about half of the bottom with cuttings from our decorative grasses and some other yard waste, but I wish I had kept a bag of leaves from the fall for compost. Something to plan for next year!
The challenge is going to be sunlight. I'm pretty sure plants will struggle in this location because it is in full shade for most of the day, but there aren't too many other places a vegetable garden can go in our yard. We have various islands of shrubbery in the front and just a small patch of grass in the back. It has been interesting to see what is coming up. More daffodils that I anticipated and a few tulips that I didn't plant in addition to some that I had planted have bloomed. The tulips I planted were the ones dug up by the university after they were finished blooming on campus. These leftover bulbs are given away to faculty and staff. About half of them bloomed, while some of the others sent up leaves but no bud, and a few of the buds were gnawed by the rabbits before they bloomed. At any rate, each bloom was a source of delight.
Since we didn't see the house in the spring last year, the blooming season has been more exciting than normal. First we had some oriental spice viburnums burst into bloom. They aren't showy but they smell intoxicating. There is a twiggy redbud in the corner of the yard that I'm sure is a volunteer, but I don't plan to dig it up. We have one sad forsythia bush - I bought another on the clearance rack last week to place near the remains of the one that did bloom a little.
Then we were pleased to see a dwarf crabapple in the back - could be something else, but the flowers look like a crabapple. Despite having some sort of black fungus, the ornamental plum put out a full show, but a storm knocked these flowers down shortly after they bloomed. The neighbor's magnolia and big old crabapple weathered the storm much better, and they are close enough to our patio that we can enjoy their perfume.
Now the dogwoods are blooming, and the hydrangeas are leafing out. The peonies have buds - I hope they hold off from blooming for 2 weeks so they are showy for graduation weekend. There is another shrub with buds - maybe a weigelia? - and one that looks like a lilac cultivar. A new lilac is on my wishlist, as is a bleeding heart. The lily of the valley are flourishing, making the backyard smells like a parfumerie. I discovered a few old fashioned forget-me-nots, which I didn't photograph, but was thrilled to see. The combination of those three shade loving spring beauties always reminds me of the courtyard garden in the little stone house where I lived for my first seven years. How persistent are our aesthetic inclinations toward our first memories of loveliness!
I'm hoping Sunday it will warm up enough to plant some of the garden boxes. I think there are some old storm windows and doors in the attic that I could place on top to make a sort of cold frame, but a friend told me Mother's Day was planting day around here, when danger of frost declines dramatically. I won't ever forget, though, how we had snow on my birthday, May 24th, when we lived north of Chicago. That was years ago, but with wild weather patterns lately, anything feels possible.
And I'm hopeful anything might possibly grow in my shady garden boxes! We'll shall see.
The koi and the water plants survived the winter. Some amorous toads visited for a few days, and now we have hundreds of tadpoles as well.
An iris has bloomed, somewhat dwarfish, to keep St. Fiacre company. Despite losing his head a few years ago, this little statue has accompanied us on several moves.
Fancy tulips planted by the previous owners.
Some late narcissus under the dogwood. The hostas are in full leaf now, too. I was hopeful our dogwood would be pink, but the white is pretty.
My rabbit chaser
Some Solomon's seal
The white tulips from campus. They grow tall and sturdy, while the fancy pinks have drooping stems - maybe from the weight of the multiflora petals?
