Spring has sprung! The vernal equinox took place March 20, when daytime and nighttime are the same length. The grass is rapidly greening, and the rain events last week, St. Patrick’s Day rainstorm and then some more, encouraged the delighted pinkletink chorus into a happy hallelujah. Komodo and his flock of free-ranging tick hunters are on the job.
Varieties of advice
The system of moon planting has been around in one form or another since ancient times. Today it is based partly on the 20th century work and theories of Rudolf Steiner, and is disputed as a scientific method. Nonetheless, farmers and growers around the world have serenely used these methods for generations.
When used in conjunction with the excellent data of NOAA and the National Weather Service, growers are well set to make good decisions (bit.ly/3rgMKdS).
In our gardens we are always trying to improve results and performance. At seasons when lots of sowing, planting, transplanting, and weeding are taking place, having access to advice of moon planting is one more piece of information to help refine the work.
It is much like studying in different artists’ studios, where techniques may vary widely; when it comes from different sources and perspectives, most advice helps gardeners develop a personal MO, and is helpful — even knowing when to ignore it!
Forced hardy bulbs
The half-dozen spent hyacinths I forced in hyacinth vases continued to age, none too gracefully. As soon as frost was out, and a spade was able to lever open planting slots, out of the vases and into the garden bed they went.
Forced hardy bulbs, contrary to belief, can be saved and planted out, and with just a little patient waiting, will usually be seen to establish and reflower. Exceptions, however, are forced holiday paperwhites (and often, but not always, tulips). Paperwhites are a one-time, tender species, and do not survive 7A winters in the ground here.
Restoration, or vandalism?
Some years ago I read about the debate that followed the efforts to restore a British garden designed by the revered Humphrey Repton, at Ashton Court in Bristol. At issue was a magnificent stand of 150-year-old, non-native, coastal redwoods.
When in time restoration of the garden became necessary, the presence of the redwoods was considered an intrusion into the original vision, their having been planted some 50 years after the garden’s creation.
The restoration argument went: These are not part of the original Repton design, and do not reflect its integrity. The redwoods’ origin was also criticized: They are a non-native species.
The vandalism argument went: The morality of felling a stand of 150-year-old trees seems questionable. “Britain is not short of late-Georgian landscapes, but the world … desperately needs its trees even if, like these poor redwoods, they are alien species in incongruous settings,” wrote Nigel Colborn in Gardens Illustrated.
In gardens, landscapes, and nature, there is no need to “move fast and break things.”
Mending broken pots
Speaking of moving fast and breaking things, almost everyone, or his or her cat, has knocked over a plant, or cracked or broken a special flowerpot. The usual course is using the pieces, especially if terracotta, for “crocking,” the material in the bottom of planters that is added to ensure good drainage.
If the pieces are saved, however, in many cases one of today’s miracle glues or bonding agents can rescue that pot and resuscitate it for years of useful life. Products cited are Gorilla Glue, Liquid Nails, Loctite, two-part epoxies, several Minwax products, and superglues.
‘Sustainable Lawn Care’ seminar
As grass greens daily, lawn care is on many minds. Homeowners and gardeners, and those responsible for playing fields and public parks’ green spaces, hold achieving sustainable lawn care high on the priorities list. Everyone desires beautiful turf that is sustainable, and safe for us and children, pets, and our environment.
On March 29, Vineyard Conservation Society presents a conversation/seminar about grassland creation and management that may supply just the information needed to achieve sustainable lawn care. It’s free and open to the public from 2 to 4 pm at the Agricultural Hall, 35 Panhandle Road, West Tisbury.
In the garden
Go time is here. English ivy has been growing all winter with very little setback. Masses of it on trees add heavy windage that can pull them over in windstorms; remove it.
Take a look at lavenders, santolinas, and artemisias: Clear any debris and prune them to promote nice, bushy crowns.
Peony sprouts are emerging; the red coloration signals their locations. These plants are susceptible to botrytis blight, especially in wet springs. Avoid spreading disease and damage to shoots by gently removing remains of last year’s foliage.
Crowns of phlox (Phlox paniculata) will be showing fringes of new growth, bright green for white and lighter colored cultivars, reddish to purple in deeper-colored ones, and much harder to see. Early spring is timely for gently lifting, dividing, and resetting these perennials and others like them.
Clumps of creeping phlox (P. subulata) are stepping up for their spring Technicolor show. Lightly comb the dense, frizzy mats to remove old foliage, and plan on shearing back after bloom to prevent the thinning that afflicts older clumps.
By the time you read Garden Notes, all around the Island we shall be “seeing the yellow” that Kay Mayhew referred to (Tisbury town column). Daffodils reward Island gardens and gardeners — we are thankful! — due to their poisonousness and lack of appeal to deer, rabbits, voles, and chipmunks. When narcissus bulbs are happy, they multiply rapidly, and may be divided and replanted to swell the cheerful impact.
Although traditional planting time for spring bulbs is the fall when growers ship them for sale, once in the garden, spring division makes more sense, due to the foliage marking the locations. Therefore, as with snowdrops, I recommend dividing and splitting “in the green,” after flowering. Side-dress perennials and bulbs with quality organic soil food (a.k.a. “fertilizer”).
