Spring Has Sprung | myZeeland.com

The tulips are breathtaking this year and at their peak. It is a beautiful spring day. I am sitting at my computer and I am looking through a window and can see my garden. Now I am glad that I spent one Saturday afternoon last fall freezing my fingers and toes, wearing a heavy coat and braving the north wind doing last minute planting. My spring garden is at its peak and I love it.

Someone gave me some tulips called blueberry and cream. So far this week I have had several visitors who have asked if they could take pictures of their little Dutch costumed kids sitting in front of the tulips. I always give the same answer help your self and go where you want. I am already putting in painted popsicle sticks around a grouping of tulips or other spring bulbs as a reminder to me that says, DO NOT DIG out as there are bulbs underneath. I hate to disturb the tulips already planted by mistake. I know that I have bulbs underground so move on. I take pictures during the course of spring and summer but have found that between planting grape hyacinths and placing sticks I have all bases covered. My hosta are coming up, poking their heads above the newly covering of compost. I had 8 yards of compost delivered by truck and I am filling in holes in my lawn and trying to put compost in and around all my perennials. I just put it over the mulched leaves and grass clippings.

I hope someone who reads this can tell me why rabbits like to eat yellow crocus and not touch the purple crocus when they planted in a grouping. Surely, in the dark of night the rabbits cannot see the color or can they? Do purple crocus smell different from the yellow crocus? I am at a loss to explain why; maybe someone can help me out. Not one yellow crocus survived the onslaught. The rabbits came back to the yellow crocus two or three times and just ate the stems. How do I know it was rabbits, they tend to leave very distinctive droppings.

Am I ready to brave the tomato plants in my earth box again? After last years, fiasco of those dreaded tomato worms and making the mistake of planting three plants instead of the two as recommended, I am not sure. The tomatoes sure tasted good and were plentiful. I must remember to NOT leave the earth box on the driveway but move it to the edge of the garden. I also will insert the tomato cages in right after planting so they are ready to act as a guide. It is impossible to add it later, especially when leaving the box in the middle of my cement driveway. I am getting bigger wire cages, inserting them around the earth box, and pushing them down into the soil around the earth box. I hope everyone reading this enjoys the spring as much as I do.

See you next time.

Carol, the garden lady