In the Garden: April 2005 Archives

It's time for violets and lilacs!

Our yard is full of violets. There are places where it's only violets! We have traditional purple violets, and white ones and pale blue ones. There's one stretch of what is laughingly called "lawn" that I'll have to ask DH not to mow until the violets are gone.

The viburnum growing where the drive meets the road is in bloom, and the scent is heavenly! The cold/cool weather has prolonged the tulip season. I'll have to make note of where they are so I don't kill anything off when I reorganize the gardens this summer. We still have a few daffodils, and the clematis is trying to work it's way up the arbor. I'll have to go out to set up the twine that encourages it on it's way to the top.

I forgot to check my winter sown seeds, and the heat got them all one fine day. I've just about decided where I want tomatoes and lettuces to go....and I'd better get that lettuce in NOW!

YEA, SPRING!!!!

Or, she's getting ready to. We've had unusually warm weather for April. I'm sure the Cubs are thrilled to be playing in warm weather, but the results for some of our plants could be disastrous.

I see that tulips I planted last fall are up and ready to bloom, but today we are supposed to slip into the 50s as a cold front passes, and by the end of the week, we'll be flirting with freezing weather at night. I hope the tulips can deal with it. They never last long here, so I'd like to have at least ONE season of bloom.

Chipmunks are the bane of my warm weather existence. They taunt my cat and eat the tulip bulbs. They filch my crocus bulbs and deposit them for future meals. The following two pictures are of crocus that have been deftly removed from my gardens and replanted along a path next to our property. I was out walking and the blooms caught my eye.

I guess at heart, the chippies are exterior decorators. They wanted to share my gardens with others, the little buggers!