Even here on an Island known for drab springs, May overwhelms with its spectacular pleasures of garden color and scent. Whole neighborhoods are redolent — that effulgent word is apt — of lilac and lily of the valley, a reason to plant these and other fragrant plants.
These two cited above, however, give much in return for very little fuss. A scattering of lime over lilacs’ root runs helps these plants, originating in limestone areas of the Caucasus, to adapt to Island soils, but is hardly essential. Lily of the valley is a woodlander, and prefers to be sited where there is some shade. Blotchy burning on leaves may occur in full sun, although they still bloom.
Some spring color signals a less welcome presence: poison ivy — crimson to burgundy new leaves in threes, very handsome, and a lookalike to wild sarsaparilla and Virginia creeper. Scout for it and other invasives and unwanted growth while leafing out is still taking place — difference in foliage and color helps to locate them now, in hedges and under and around shrubs and trees.
Sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis) as an adaptogen was a widely used traditional medicinal in former days, and is a focus of renewed research for Lyme arthritis treatment. It is in the greater ginseng family. It can be mistaken for poison ivy; the way to tell the difference is that sarsaparilla lacks a woody base and has fine teeth along the edges of the leaves.
In the garden: Vegetables
Gardeners have many methods for establishing transplants in the garden, recipes and tricks that have been acquired by trial and error over years, but the most basic one is to water in whatever you have planted, preferably immediately, as you plant, or within a reasonable amount of time. It is going to make a big difference in establishment and stress reduction for the plants.
Various teas made from nettles, comfrey, manure, seaweed, or other (usually smelly) substances give the plants a head start. Liquid seaweed and fish emulsion may be purchased at most garden centers; use a diluted solution according to directions on the bottle. A very simple trick is to place a comfrey leaf in the bottom of the planting hole and add a bit of soil before placing the seedling. Another is to drop a half-trowel’s worth of compost into the hole and plant into that.
The one thing not to do is to apply fertilizer, even organic, at time of planting, either in the planting hole or around the plant, due to danger of burning. In the case of “starts” (seedlings that were grown elsewhere prior to being planted outside in the garden), cutworm collars or pinching out the growing tip might be appropriate, depending on the plant.
Most of the warm-season plants and seeds may be sown now, although I am still inhibited by fear of a last-minute chill bomb.
Cutworms have been destructively marching down the rows of leek seedlings in my garden, and I have needed to replace numerous plants. Luckily, this season I have a supply of spares. It seems cool weather favors the prolonged presence of this nuisance, which is actually the soil-dwelling caterpillar of nondescript nocturnal moths.
Cutworms are fat, curled-up green, brown, or gray worms: great treats for hens. I suppose they pupate sooner in warmer weather, ceasing their consumption of tender seedlings. Frequent cultivation may discourage them, or even uncover them in smaller plantings, but nighttime scouting is the best way to catch them in the act. As plants’ stems increase in size, the cutworm threat lessens.
In the garden: Ornamental
Bearded irises have begun to bloom, and peonies are not far behind. Staking becomes a necessity shortly. Roses are budded; give them a side dressing of two cups of Pro-Gro. Perform the “Chelsea chop” on perennials — phlox, chrysanthemums, and asters especially. This is cutting stems, whether carefully executed or done grab ’n’ cut, which retards bloom and causes sturdy growth and branching.
Scout for green apple galls on blueberries and azaleas (especially Exburys). Remove and destroy: Do not compost. While performing bed work, watch for late-emerging shoots of perennials such as butterfly weed and hibiscus. We have found resprouting dahlias in several gardens that were left in place and survived the winter.
Self-sowing of certain annuals and perennials requires a tolerance for seedheads long after their flowering time, but is worth it, e.g., nigella, foxglove, columbine, thalictrum, pansies, poppies, and lunaria.
Pruning and hedge trimming are easy now, while the growth is soft. Remember, please, that birds are nesting in hedges and shrubs and are vulnerable.
Dwarf bearded iris
A new acquisition in a genus, Iris, that I love: ‘Blueberry Tart,’ a standard dwarf bearded iris. A plant about 11 inches tall with bright blue standards, tan falls rimmed in blue, and fuzzy blue beards, coming into bloom just as the hypnotic daffodil days are passing and leaving me needing the next garden “fix.” It received the 2008 American Iris Society Award of Merit.
It joins several other dwarf irises here; the names of most are unknown, but I still enjoy them: a pale blue, a lavender/brown, a baby-girl pink, and a small yellow. Spring downpours are unlikely to tilt these sturdy flowering scapes, eliminating the need for staking.
‘Blueberry Tart’ is described as reblooming in fall. Plant it, and most other bearded iris, in well-drained soil with full sun, where it can bake in summer. Plant so rhizomes are at soil level and exposed to sunlight. Division is usually recommended at summer’s end, but these days, as with pruning, the “right time” is (sigh) whenever it gets done.
Plant sales
Polly Hill Arboretum: perennials, trees, and shrubs. Visitor Center, North Tisbury. The Greenhouse of Martha’s Vineyard (formerly COMSOG): annuals, baskets, vegetable starts. Oak Bluffs.