SPRING 
2014  

THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN

 The bounce is in my step and I am ready, but Mother Nature has been slow to wake up this sluggish season.  After three weeks of daily inspections, I'm encouraged by some good things I see and disheartened by some losses or changes.  Whenever I have been asked which I'd like first, the good news or the bad news I always go for the bad. Get it over with.  Move on.  And so...

THUMBS DOWN

1.  Out of the 4 dozen or so seeds I planted for Sweet Pea flowers only ONE has germinated!  And it really is too late for a second attempt. I love their colors, their sweet aroma, and they will be missed.

2.  I lost both of my Dianthus Deltoid Zing Rose. They were such bright spots.  It is a very hardy perennial, one I have never lost. Easy replaceable, though, and always reasonably priced.

3.  GOODNESS SNAKES ALIVE!!!!  Some gardeners would put this in the thumbs up column, but not me.

4.  No lupines or flax wintered over, but no surprise there.  I have to accept that in my garden these are annuals, not perennials.

5.  Ticks are back in force - look for more on the subject in a future post.

6.  My favorite purchase last year was a new cultivar of pulmonaria, a pure white blossom spiking above lush  green leaves spotted with white.  Apparently it didn't like me as much as I liked IT.  Gone.

7.  Worst and very worst, my three year old New Dawn Climbing Rose which covered the trellis has no sign of new growth.  Not a single new leaf pushing out. This is  not a tender perennial.  And only two of my five Knock-outs are showing life.  I have had them F-O-R-E-V-E-R.  Is is as if I fertilized my roses with Roundup instead of Epsoma Rose Tone.  I am mystified.  Never has a green thumb felt so brown.  Hope springs eternal, though.

THUMBS UP

1.  I have seen no evidence of bunny destruction.  It's still early, but last year I lost multiple plantings of multiple perennials.  The rabbits were unstoppable.  Could it be the "early and light" application of Deer Defeat that was recommended by the vendors of that product? (As opposed to the late and heavy application last year)

2.  I also have had no evidence of the "Spring Sickness" which has plagued my day lilies  every  year since moving here five  years ago.  (See the May 7, 2011 post)  I'm looking forward to a very good daylily season.

3.  Five out of eight chrysanthemums returned, surpassing any previous record by four!  I will be their Florence Nightingale until they bloom this Fall.

4.  The lilacs are loaded with buds.  Because last year's blossoms were very sparse I invested a lot of time and labor into pruning, cutting out suckers, feeding, etc.  I really like it when an effort is rewarded.

5.  My miniature rose bushes (meant for indoors or outdoors) are thriving!  These are sentimental favorites.  Our son's girlfriend mailed one to us as a thank-you after she "met the family" and joined us on our Adirondack vacation.  It's initial appearance did not offer much promise. It had sweet little pink blossoms that turned brown before they could open. I called the company and they sent me another one right away.  And the same thing happened.  To save them from certain death I cut them back dramatically in August, planted them outside and hoped for the best.  Lookin' good!

6.  The Daffodils were amazing!  They multplied and nodded their lovely heads at me every day.  Many varieties have given me a long season with successive bloom. Again, why?  Is it because I scratched a little bone meal into each old site last Fall?  This could go to my head. I might plant 200 next Fall.