Daffodils and more

 Spring came fast and furious this year and the garden has never looked better this early.  I have also spent more time in it. The compost pile in the driveway is over half gone. All my Spring flowering trees seem to be in sync this year with the redbud taking center stage right now.  The epimediums should peak this weekend in the back shade garden along with the primroses.

  Last Thursday I went up north to the Adirondacks with my friend Drew (Baneberry Garden Blog) to see thousands of daffodils planted over the last nine years.  Daffodil Dan with his partner Ruth have one hundred acres of woods that they are planting with daffodils ( about 300,000 so far) and other deer proof bulbs.  It was a spectacular sight walking the trails and seeing large swaths of white and yellow scattered under the trees.  While showing us around the woods Dan discussed the management of the woodlot and its soil while Ruth talk about the different kinds of daffodils and their care. (They try to deadhead all the flowers every year.) I think this will become an annual trip.

Spring Beauties

Christmas in April

When I arrived home this afternoon there were two boxes waiting on the front porch.  For  weeks I have been waiting for this day to come.  One was from Plants Delight and the other box was from Seneca Hill Perennials.  I have been dealing with both of these nurseries for years and have had great results.  This year I ordered plants for the shade gardens such as epimediums, a couple of trilliums, primroses and more arisaemas.  All the plants look great but will have to be hardened off before planted out in the garden.  Tomorrow an order from Asiatica will arrive with more goodies for my garden.

Spring Delivery

This past  week has been very warm with a number of days going over eighty degrees which has caused many plants to leaf out and bloom earlier than usual.  Today was much cooler which will slow things down.  This year I broke down and had two truckloads of compost delivered.(Almost as good as getting plants in the mail).  The soil here is very sandy and needs all the help I can give it. I read somewhere that die hard gardeners always have piles of something in their driveways. It will have be gone by June when the garden goes on tour to help raise money for a local museum.

Spring Blues

March Ramblings

We have had an early spring here in upstate New York.  For the past week the temperatures have been in the sixties during the day.  I have gotten ahead on garden cleanup and started screening compost. Snowdrops and a few hellebores have been blooming for awhile and. the first Iris retculata opened today.(11days earlier than last year). 

Field Trip

Yesterday my wife and I took a ride over to Smith College in North Hampton Massachusetts to visit the Lyman Conservatory. The conservatory is over 100 years old and has a wonderful collection of plants from around the world.  In March the conservatory puts on a Spring bulb show for the public. We got there early so the crowds weren't to bad.  The great thing about this show is that the pots are labeled and displayed at eye level for easy viewing.  It is hard to pick a favorite but the fritillarias and species tulips were on top of my lists.