We had snow over Easter weekend, but today the sun is shining again! It’s a breezy day, and I can smell the lilacs that are just beginning to bloom along one side of the fence. I am so glad the snow didn’t freeze their blossoms because they are one of my spring favorites and probably the most nostalgic of all flowers and fragrances to me. They remind me of so many parts of my childhood I can’t even begin to describe all the memories they bring to mind.
While the lilacs are just starting, the apple trees are in full bloom and are actually about to drop all their petals in a fragrant snow. Again, I am so thankful the snow did not freeze these flowers, and I hope we won’t have any hard frosts now so that we will get some fruit from the trees in the autumn. They were a delightful surprise for us to find when we moved into this rental. I do love this apple blossom sky!
We also have another tree in our backyard that I believe to be a birdcherry. I can’t decide if it was an intentional part of the landscaping in the past or if it came up of its own accord. (Its scions and seedlings are both rather aggressive little plants, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a volunteer tree.) It is rather pretty, though, now that we trimmed it back a bit so it isn’t so straggling and bushy, and I think its flowers smell quite nice.
As for the progress on our container garden plans, last month I collected all the random pots that were lying around in various places here when we moved in. I also ordered some window box style planters off Amazon (affiliate link) to fill in the gaps. I can see now that I have all of the pots arranged about where I want them that I need to move them temporarily while I do some serious weeding. I forgot that this area was full of “creeping Jenny” last summer, and it is not something I want climbing into all my veggie pots! I am going back and forth on whether to also buy some stackable planters for strawberries (like these) since I bought more potting soil than I ended up needing anyway. We do love strawberries, and they are one thing I have grown successfully everywhere we lived that I had a garden. I am just not sure what I would do with them in the winter since I have always planted in ground before. Our garage is not heated, so maybe just rolling the whole planter stack in there for overwintering would work? Something to think about….
In the meantime, we have sowed a few cold-hardy veggies in the pots outside already, such as snap peas, lettuce, radishes, and spinach. I also started several things indoors, almost all of which have come up by now. I actually need to repot a few things that I didn’t expect to come up so soon and grow so tall so quickly! Most of these are herbs and flowers, as well as a few warmer weather veg that need started indoors, like cucumbers and peppers. I plan to purchase some tomatoes already started as well, since I didn’t have any tomato seeds and didn’t want to buy a whole packet just for 2-3 plants.
So, that’s this month’s gardening update for you! I look forward to being able to come back next month and say that we have things actually coming up outdoors, so hopefully the weather will cooperate and let that happen! In the meantime, I would love to hear what you are planning or what is already growing in your neck of the woods!
Until next time, happy gardening, friends!
Kiel
