The garden is slowly coming back to life. Tiny green leaves are budding on the limelight hydrangeas I planted last year and I am relieved. The best surprise was that the peony tubers I planted last year but never grew actually sprouted this year. My winter blues have been replaced with elation as I prepare for the upcoming garden season.
Last week I decided to take advantage of the lovely weather here and clean up the front porch. Although it’s still to soon to do away with the stacked firewood, I tidied up the pile and swept away the debris. As I was cleaning up I saw those sad, empty flower pots and I couldn’t take it. So, off to the nursery I went. I am really making an effort to cut back on annuals unless starting from seed. I brought two geraniums indoors to live on a window sill last fall. I also planted some tulip bulbs in a pot but they are only just now starting to pop through the soil.
The nursey is slowly bringing in flowers and everything just looks lovely. I could easily have gone overboard but I was hoping to find a few perennial plants currently in bloom. My plan was to pot them up now to decorate the porch and then plant them out in the garden later in the season.
I must have walked around those nursery tables for an hour debating which plants to buy, what would go together and be in my budget. It was fun to use creative energy that had been dormant for far too long. They had Hellebores, Calla Lillies in beautiful colors, English Daises, and Dianthus to just name a few. I finally settled on Ballerina Lilac Armeria, Blue Star Lithodora, and because how could I resist, a pansy. I don’t have anything similar to Armeria and Lithodora in the garden so it seemed to be a good investment. I was quite pleased with the result. It was the cheerful drop of color I needed to carry me through. Happy Spring!
