May 3, 2009 In Marjorie Suggests, Marjorie's Life, perennials, Plants, Plants in my Garden, Spring

BLOG MAY 3/09 new spring perennials and the flood

Spring Flood '09

Spring perennials, spring ephemerals and anything to do with spring struggled to be know in the garden this week. I did not expect this flood on the left would make me stop, sit for hours in the middle of the garden on a bench, feet in water, sump pump humming nearby. It reminded me of being a little kid and playing in a stream making dams, directing the water where I wanted it. There I was back in childhood and skipping work in the sunshine.

But of course there are bigger upsides for gardeners. Stranded and forced to sit for an hour or two means you see what’s around you. Patrolling doesn’t do it. I savoured the cow bird who’s on the lookout for a nest—she’s got several lovely songs; the sight of all these plants I forgot I’d put in: the intense magenta of our native Trilliium erectum, still small here but it survived; the magnificent Mertensia virginica(Virginia bluebell); I felt ravished by the scent from a pile of hyacinths I’d packed in last autumn. What good luck to be trapped by beauty.

Tulipa tarda and Narcissus 'Tete-a-Tete'
It’s the tiny things all around that were so dazzling (like the Tulipa tarda and the Narcusus ‘Tete a Tete’ here).

I intend to spend more time sitting in my garden than I have in the past. The squirrels are busy eating all the buds off the magnificent magnolia; the new grasses are springing up.  Yes there are lots of holes but I’m betting they’ll get filled up very quickly.

I had my very first volunteer in the garden this week: Monique. She knows her way around the garden and having someone so knowledgeable working along side me for a few hours was another pleasure of the week. As a treat, I invited her to go with me to the annual Loblaw bun bash.

This is an amazing event because you get not only to see the new plants they’ll be carrying, you get to take them home. Well it turns grown people into screaming meamies (including Miss Greedy guts here). One dame accused us of stealing her plants. An honest mistake on Monique’s part, she put the wrong plants on our trolley. Quite a view of gardeners.

But I’lll report on what’s going to be in their stores in a few days. Meantime the mud pile is looking much better:

09 And hola more volunteers are coming in to help move trees this week. It will look so different. If to no one but me and, after all, who does anyone garden for except themselves.