With the days now stretching noticeably longer and the sunlight growing ever stronger, all gardeners’ thoughts turn towards spring and the sweet joys of gardening.
Today, I’d like to share some inspirational quotes about gardening as we look forward to the warm months ahead . . .
(Photo courtesy of Jill Wellington on Pixabay)
In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. Abram L. Urban
(Photo courtesy of Dewdrop157 on Pixabay)
A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all, it teaches entire trust. Gertrude Jekyll
(Photo courtesy of Nile on Pixabay)
I have never had so many good ideas, day after day, as when I worked in the garden. John Erskine
(Photo courtesy of Pexels on Pixabay)
One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. W.E. Johns
(Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
An addiction to gardening is not all bad when you consider all the other choices in life. Cora Lea Bell
(Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together, drawing them from their homes. Clare Ansberry
(Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
Flowers are the sweetest thing God ever made, and forgot to put a soul into. Henry Ward Beecher
(Photo courtesy of AsamiG on Pixabay
The greatest gift of the garden is the restoration of the five senses. Hanna Rion
(Photo courtesy of Anelka on Pixabay)
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Alliums are a diverse group of flowering onions which are care-free and resistant to rodents, rabbits, and deer. They thrive in full sun but will tolerate a bit of shade. Valued by gardeners for adding stately drama to the garden, they are also beloved by pollinators. If that isn’t enough to excite you, alliums are wonderful in cut flower arrangements and the dried seed heads remain accents in the garden long after the blooms fade. They’ve been grown in cottage gardens dating back to the 16th century and many heirloom varieties are still available today.
Tall Globe Alliums (Photo courtesy Eden Brothers)
Most of us are familiar with the tall globe alliums, those large purple flower balls so popular in spring landscape plantings. These somewhat alien-looking spheres grow from bulbs planted in the fall. Foliage emerges in early spring and then dies back as the giant flowers appear like reverse punctuation marks amongst late tulips and spring perennials. Combined with white Ornithogalum Magnum and Lady’s Mantle, the effect is magical. When planting, be sure to tuck allium bulbs behind perennials that will hide the dying foliage. Tall globe alliums come in different shades of purple as well as white and grow 36 to 48″ tall in hardiness zones 5 to 8.
Alliums with Lady’s Mantle and Ornithogalum Magnum (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
Allium Christophii, also known as Star of Persia, tops my list as the star of my bulb garden. In early June, the 8 to 10-inch silvery-violet blooms absolutely sparkle in the garden! Although not as tall as the more well-known globe alliums, the huge blooms have the appearance of flower fireworks, immediately drawing one’s attention. The color and form blend perfectly with roses and peonies, but the most wonderful thing about Allium Christophii is that the giant flower heads dry perfectly right on the stem and last for weeks after blooming, thus extending the show into summer. Allium Christophii is a robust plant that grows 18 to 24″ tall and is suited for hardiness zones 4 to 8.
Allium Christophii sparkles in the border (Photo courtesy Ashridge Trees)
Allium Christophii combines well with roses (Photo courtesy Scott Aboretum)
Looking for an allium that blooms late season? The common garlic chive is usually found in the herb garden since you can use the mild-tasting garlicky leaves and flowers in cooking. When added to the perennial border, however, the long-lasting soft white blooms add late summer into fall interest along with asters, sedum, purple coneflowers, and black-eyed Susans. Be prepared for a lot of buzz as these little flowers will attract a variety of bees and butterflies to your garden! The seed heads also remain visually interesting well into fall but you’ll want to remove these at the end of the season or the plants can aggressively self-sow. Garlic chives are about 20″ tall and are easy to grow in hardiness zones 3 to 10.
I hope I’ve encouraged you to try alliums in your garden. There are many to choose from and, once you’ve planted the bulbs, you’ll enjoy the stunning flowers for years to come as they slowly multiply and enhance the beauty of your garden!
Allium Christophii with Roses (Photo courtesy Scott Arboretum)
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Spring requires a lot of energy! With all the outside work to be done over the next few weeks, I sometimes long for a little more “spirit of youth” in myself. On a fair day, it comes back to me in the form of unbounded enthusiasm for working in the yard. The April sun calls to me but once I’m outside working, reality sets in as my body reminds me of my age. Still, loving gardening as I do, the work goes on, albeit at a slower pace.
Sunday being sunny and mild, my husband and I planted two gallon-sized lilac shrubs in an area we can see from our kitchen. The heaviest work of digging the planting holes and removing rocks fell to my husband, while I did my share of pot hauling, back-filling with soil and watering in. This new garden is a work in progress, including a vegetable patch and perennials, into which we are slowly incorporating some shrubs to gradually blend everything in with the taller trees beyond. Although we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves working outside on this beautiful spring day and could have kept going, we chose to respect our age and wisely left other projects for another day. This is our “common sense” gardening approach and really our approach to everything these days – do what you can on a given day but don’t overdo it!
When I think about common sense gardening and working smarter, I’m reminded of that famous garden sage, Ruth Stout. Born in Kansas in 1884, Ruth moved to a country setting in New York State when she married at age 18. She knew nothing about gardening but instantly fell in love with the rural landscape which included apple trees and fragrant lilacs. After hiring someone with a plow to turn over the soil, she planted a vegetable patch, gardening the same way everyone else did at that time. One year in April when the man hadn’t arrived in time to plow, she decided that maybe there was an easier way to garden without turning over the soil at all.
Ruth’s revolutionary gardening method was to plant everything in layers of mulch with no digging needed. As the straw and hay mulch decomposed, the nutrients fed the plants, requiring no other fertilizer. Amazingly, everything that she planted grew with very little effort! Ruth wrote many popular books based on her “no work” method and gardened this way until her death in 1980 at 96 years old. Although I don’t use her layered garden technique, other than applying a yearly mulch, I will always have great respect for her common sense approach to gardening and life.
As we age, it’s hard for us to admit that we can’t do it all anymore. Over the last couple of years, we’ve enlisted the help of landscapers to mulch and edge our large perennial gardens since the sheer effort of accomplishing this task every spring has become daunting. Don’t get me wrong, we are very active Baby Boomers who do a lot of physical work maintaining our home and yard, and we don’t see that stopping anytime soon. We’re not lazy by any means; we’ve just learned the difference between what is easily accomplished on our own and what requires a little help. There’s no shame here, no guilt, and no aching back! Like Ruth Stout, we’ve found an easier way to make it all happen.
They say that “slow and steady wins the race,” and I believe that’s really the key to healthy aging. I’ll do what I can, when I can, and be thankful for all I do accomplish. To me, no matter how long it takes, every day spent working in the garden is a gift!
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We all have favorite early spring bloomers and, today, I’ll talk about some of mine – three stellar plants that are beautiful, hardy and low maintenance – my criteria for qualifying as “power” perennials!
For most of us right now it’s all about the early blooms of bulbs, but soon enough our sleeping perennials will emerge in a big way. Combining perennials with bulbs is not only beautiful but a great way to keep the garden looking tidy as the growing plants will hide the dying foliage of the bulbs that have come and gone. The earliest perennials will even share the stage with our blooming bulbs and enhance their beauty.
Old-fashioned Bleeding Heart (Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash)
One example of such a plant is the classic, old-fashioned Bleeding Heart, so named for the multiple pink heart-shaped blooms that are carried on its graceful arching stems. When planted in compost-rich soil in an area with plenty of morning sun, these plants can grow 2 to 3 feet in height and width. With their large size, they make an impressive statement all on their own but combined with daffodils, tulips, or bluebells, the effect is enchanting! I love the combination of white “Thalia” daffodils with pink Bleeding Heart and a sprinkling of bluebells. The plants will remain robust for many weeks after the early bulbs have bloomed but, in the heat of summer, Bleeding Heart dies back to the ground where it will sleep until the following spring. Because of this, I find it best to plant another perennial nearby that will fill the leftover gap. Hostas, which enjoy similar growing conditions but are slower to emerge in spring, make the perfect summer companions. You can grow Bleeding Heart in US Zones 3 to 9 and they’re deer and rabbit resistant.
Heuchera “Black Taffeta” shines next to bright greens (Photo courtesy Wayside Gardens)
The second early power perennial on my list is the Heuchera, also known as Coral Bells. Growing in popularity every year, these tough little plants come in color variations too numerous to mention, from the deepest purple to the brightest yellow-green! They sport tiny flowers on dainty spikes throughout the summer months but it’s the color of the foliage that makes these plants shine in pots and borders. In my Zone 6 garden, heucheras remain evergreen and are one of the first perennials to spring back every year! On the smaller side at 12 to 18 inches in height and width, heucheras look stunning grouped together at the feet of larger perennials, especially with a contrasting or complementary color. I use heuchera “Lime Rickey” nestled around cimicifuga “Hillside Black Beauty” to make both colors pop. They prefer afternoon shade but can take more sun if kept evenly moist. Heucheras grow best in US Zones 4 to 8 and are deer and rabbit resistant.
Candytuft Close-Up (Photo courtesy ToGoGarden)
Looking for some eye candy? Candytuft or Iberis is another old-fashioned plant that remains evergreen in my garden and blooms for weeks with masses of pure white flowers. Native to the Mediterranean, these low-growing plants prefer rocky, well-drained soil and are perfect for use in rock gardens along with creeping phlox, rock cress, “Basket of Gold” alyssum and colorful spring bulbs. They grow anywhere from 6 to 10 inches tall and spread 12 to 30 inches depending upon the cultivar. After blooming, I like to remove the spent flowers and enjoy the dark green foliage through the rest of the season. Candytuft prefers full sun but will tolerate some shade, especially in hot areas. Drought-tolerant once established and also deer resistant, they can be grown in US Zones 3 to 9.
Cheerful Pansy Faces (Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com)
April to mid-May is the perfect time of year to visit local nurseries where only the hardiest plants have been moved outside, all ready for gardens and pots. This is a great way to find early blooming perennials to fill out your spring garden including the fine plants mentioned above. And don’t forget to add some cheerful pansies and violas while you’re at it!
Sweet Alyssum, Heuchera, and Violas in Early Spring Pots (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
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With the advent of spring, I’ve been treated to many beautiful flower photos on social media while, in my own garden, the earliest bulbs are just beginning to waken from their winter’s rest. Over the next couple of weeks, the garden will come alive with tiny blooms while their sweet fragrance will once again fill the air.
The first emerging spring flowers such as Snowdrops, Chionodoxa, Puschkinia, and Crocus may be small in appearance but they can be big on fragrance. Since you would have to be at ground level to catch their delicate scents, many people miss them altogether. To capture this fleeting essence of early spring, I like to cut some of these little gems and place them in vases inside where their soft colors and subtle fragrances can be enjoyed close-up.
As I take it all in, I know it’s just the beginning of many weeks of delightful garden scents as Daffodils, Hyacinth, Tulips, Lily of the Valley and Alliums make their debut! Soon, the fragrances of blooming shrubs and perennials will envelop us. One only has to take a walk on a warm spring day to fall under this intoxicating aromatic spell; all around, fragrance permeates the air!
There are many scents that I enjoy this time of year, but if I could pick just one flower that speaks to me most powerfully, it would be the Lilac. Here in New England, it’s hard to find a yard that doesn’t include at least one lilac shrub. Many people have several different colors and some properties even boast lilac hedges. It’s a perennial favorite and for good reason – there is simply nothing else like the fragrance of lilacs!
White Lilac (Photo courtesy Veri Ivanova – Unsplash)
More than any other flower, lilacs hold the magical power to transport me to another time and place. The scent carries sweet associations of my childhood as I envision the white and purple blooms by the back porch, my mother filling a vase for the house or my little self carrying a small bouquet to school. It’s the fragrance of many cherished memories!
The romantic scent of Roses also has a powerful effect on me, carrying me back to a gentler time when ladies wore long flowing dresses and carried parasols to protect their fair skin from the sun. My mind conjures up images of Downton Abbey, the grand entrance filled with huge oriental vases, all overflowing with fragrant English roses. Thanks in part to the efforts of breeder David Austin, the romance of rose growing has resurged in recent years and it’s easy to find roses of many colors everywhere you buy plants. Once you’ve added fragrant roses to your garden, you will never again want to be without them!
The next time you pass a beautiful bloom, go ahead and give it a deep sniff. Take the time to stop and smell the flowers! It may surprise you to find out that many plants we don’t typically think of as fragrant carry their own sweet scents such as Pansies, Violas, Iris, Astilbes, Daylilies, and even some Hostas. This year, try incorporating some fragrant flowers into your gardens or outdoor pots and experience what the power of fragrance can do for you!
DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate links to the companies listed below. When you click through on a link and make a purchase, I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank You!
