It is has been a rough winter for me, one full of inflammatory arthritis, or rheumatoid arthritis, or something painful that has impaired my mobility and dampened my spirits. On top of that, I had surgery a month ago and still haven’t bounced back. But this lovely warm day in May pushed me to take camera in hand and survey the gardens. I’m not able to do much gardening for a while, so I’ve hired someone to do some of the early spring chores.
This bed under the cherry tree needs some revisions. There’s an elegans that needs serious division and a slightly new location. It’s too big for the spot it is in and since I have to hire someone to do the heavy lifting, I’m going to take advantage of that extra muscle.
The bleeding heart with its lovely heart pendants, is popping out in the little bed outside the dining room. Dicentra, or Lamprocapnos, were introduced to English in the mid-1800’s. Native to Siberia, northern China, Korea, and Japan, this plant has found a happy home in West Michigan.
The entrance garden also needs some serious help. Every year I wage fierce battle with snow on the mountain. I never win. I just keep trying to get a firm grip on a green clump and hope that I can gently remove it and a bit of the root network below. Another garden demon, one that is also bothering the coral bells, is star of bethlehem, an invasive bulb. I never win that battle, either.
But the cherry tree is in full bloom. The bees love it and so do I. Last year another large limb fell under the weight of all the cherries, something that happens every couple of years. The birds and squirrels get most of the cherries and I’m happy to share.
One of my favorite May events is the flowering of the old Magnolia tree in the front garden. It’s limbs are so graceful, and beneath those love branches are some of my favorite hostas. They are calling for thunder storms tomorrow, so I suspect this lovely blossoms will be all but gone after the storm.
The Secret Garden, too, needs work, especially the bed next to garage. There is a heather plant that for the longest time I considered charming. But now it is unruly and I think I’m going to ask my hired muscle to remove it. That whole bed needs re-thinking.
One of the wonderful things about spring is that neighbors venture out. That means I get to chat with Wendell, my next door neighbor, whose imagination and creativity tell me that hope lives in the world.
Garden 337 