Yes, It Came Just the Same!
In the HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS when all could have been lost, we read, “Without any presents at all! He HADN’T stopped Christmas from coming! IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!”
Even with freezing temps and crazy amounts of snow in places where it was highly unlikely and highly unwelcome, on March 20 Spring came just the same. Bringing with it wind, rain, and in some places snow! But regardless of the weather, spring brought hope for rebirth that we see more and more each day.
SPRING SIGNS
On my daily commute to the office (AKA Potting Shed), I am seeing things that bring incredible joy.
MEMORY LANE
This winter I kept thinking about a rose I grew many years ago and lost to a particularly bad winter – Fragrant Cloud. It was as though I could actually smell the sweet fragrance in my memory.
Guess what I found at Lowes for $10… a bareroot Fragrant Cloud! I’m going to put it in a container, give it lots of love and wait for the blooms. Do you think the fragrance will be as good as my memory? I’m excited to find out. Do you grow this one?
I am trying to keep this rose dormant a bit longer but it is ready to party now!
ONE MORE
I promise this will be the last Dahlia I buy in 2022. 🙄 🤞🏻 I went for a beautiful spring “walk” through one of my very favorite local Garden Centers, COUNTRY HARMONY. Guess what? They had dahlias. And, they had this one! Soooooo different than any of the others!
ROSE CHAT SPRING FLING
Each Sunday in April we will release a new podcast I think you will enjoy! It is an outstanding lineup! Check them out HERE. https://rosechat.podbean.com
Speaking of podcast guests… A recent guest, Dr. A (Allan Armitage) is having a Facebook LIVE WalkAbout in his garden tomorrow (March 26). He’ll be showing us what’s going on in his spring garden “warts and all.” I know we will learn and we WILL laugh.
POTTING SHED PUTTERINGS
Things are green and growing in the Potting Shed.
✅ The Dahlias tubers I planted have certainly exceeded my expectations and are going to need more space than I first thought. How will I keep them happy until mid-May??? Probably started these just a few weeks too early. 😉
✅ I potted up the Dahlias I started from seed! (Unwin Bedding Dahlias) Seriously, I NEVER tire of this process. Seeing seeds germinate and watching roots form – I feel allows us to be part of the miraculous. Are you growing anything from seed this year?
✅ The Lisianthus are slowly getting bigger every day.
✅ Strawflowers are beginning to sprout.
✅ The seeds I “winter sowed” in milk jugs are coming along.
✅ Next week I’ll start Mr. G tomatoes inside and sweet peas plus a few other cool season flowers outside.
Yes, much is going well in the Potting Shed with one exception…. fungus gnats. I’m treating them with a solution made with Mosquito Bits and using “sticky tape” flowers. But so far they seem to be enjoying it all. 🙄 How do you deal with them?
Yes, spring came just the same! Let’s roll up our sleeves and enjoy regardless of what the weatherman is predicting! And here the outlook is … well let’s just say I’m gonna need a good amount of red lipstick. 💄
Happy Spring Friends!
You covered a lot of ground! I have to get to work – because I do have shoots of many daffodils and grape hyacinths. I even have blooming hellebores which I just discovered under lots of leaves.
Hellebores often are hidden in leaves! Enjoy your blooms!
Ok, I am holding you to this…no more dahlias! I request your next post to be about “how to cultivate elves in the garden!” You know the wee ones who do all those minute tasks of deadheading spent flower heads, who stand guard and make hissing noises when the rabbits arrive with those wiggly noses, and who dance among the tender young lettuces sending cabbage whites to your neighbor’s garden! 😉 Elves come in seed packets, don’t they? 😉
Wouldn’t it be nice to have such helpers!
Good luck with Fragrant Cloud! I’ve had the same grafted plant for about 12 years. Still producing great blooms of that wonderful dusty orange red. I also have this one growing from a cutting. Both do better with some extra winter protection. All worthwhile given the powerful sweet fragrance provide by Fragrant Cloud. I’m sure your first bloom will be just as intensely fragrant as you remember.
We have been having a glorious springtime for the past few weeks with so many different varieties of daffodils in bloom, camellias still in bloom, and yesterday red tulips and our cherry tree. Today my crabapple tree is in bloom. And I purchased two new roses this past week, a yellow Sunsprite and a red-yellow Charisma. This quote from Gertrude Jekyll seems so fitting for your enthusiasm with your little seedlings: “The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.” I would like to know what type of potting soil do you use for your seeds, or do you make up your own mixture? Thank you, and thank you for all of your pretty pictures. Happy Spring!
I bought my first Dahlia bulbs. Going to give them a try!
That’s great. Which one did you get?
Garden Wonder- a lovely red one.