I'm satisfied to ignore the garden completely for three or four months until Spring Fever starts bubbling. I'm not yet feeling it, but I guess that the garden IS. So today I had to get out there and spend a few hours cleaning up and cutting back. My efforts came a bit too late for some of the plants. Among the grasses, Calamagrostis brachytricha and Melica uniflora were already well-sprouted and I was unable to trim out all of the spent foliage. Well, I guess I could have if I were patient enough, but I am not. And the (many) Anemones were already producing new growth, making it a little more tedious to selectively prune out the old stems. I pruned down a large Nandina, so we'll see how that re-sprouts. And I pruned the hardy fuchsias and the grapes. I've got more to do, but the yard waste bin is full, plus one more large bag, and it started to rain so I called it quits.
Here are some photos from the day...
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| Pre-Spring view of the front garden. I tidied-up and sprinkled on some new compost/mulch. |
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| The sweet and diminutive Melica may be trying for world domination, I don't know... |
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| These must be Allium nigrum? I've never before had alliums come back strongly or multiply like this. |
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| Around back, I think this planting combo has performed well--tricyrtis, western sword ferns, and alpine strawberries. The grassy plant is Carex tumulicola. |
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| On the opposite side of our back door, we have Nandina, Triceyrtis, a yellow Hellebore, and Saxifraga primuloides. |
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| Eeewwww. The back yard still needs to be tidied. Isn't that nasty? The Brunnera have recently put out some new growth--I'll have to be careful when I am tidying around them. Next year, I think I'll tidy in Fall. I've been trying to garden "more naturally", but this is just gross and unnecessary. |
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| Something pretty (or at least interesting) to purge the last picture from our minds--these are lichen (Cladonia) fruiting bodies. |
8 comments:
I leave everything au naturale until this time of year, too. It's a little harder to get thing cleaned up for the bulbs, but I've been told it's good for the birds and other critters to let things start to rot in place.
I just love your plants . . . the A. nigrum is going to be spectacular when it blooms.
I have so much Cladonia in my shady spots this year . . .
Thanks! The Cladonia and all the different mosses are kind of great, aren't they? There is a natural tapestry growing on the rocks in our rockery. Once I learned that they were fruiting bodies, I couldn't shake the image of them as little Seussian smoke stacks for puffing their spores into the air.
I wouldn't worry too much about the cleanup, other than for egregious mess. Most plants like to live in the organic matter they create, more so than in wood chip mulch. Once the plants are out, you probably won't notice.
I know, James. It's just...the SLIME. But, there would have been some slime no matter what--courtesy of the alder tree.
My garden is remarkably ugly now too, full of nasty slimy stuff, and I am definitely not feeling Spring Fever. I'm way behind in cleaning up, because of my recent surgery. I feel the weight of all that work preying on me though. Great shot of the lichen! You have some nice combos in your garden.
Hi Alison, I hope you feel better soon--and even better than you were before. You'll be ready to bust out a lotta work then! I'm not worried about the work, but the slime is nasty. And I'm afraid that it will discolor the concrete and then I'll have a big cleaning job. Really, that should have been my priority--just keep sweeping it off the pavers...
It looks as if your garden is ready to launch a beautiful spring, even if you're not quite there. We're still waiting for our winter rain but it already feels as though we're on the cusp of summer.
Thanks, Kris! I know--my heart goes out to you guys who are trying to make do with such meager rainfall. And then I hear about the Santa Anas starting up...Such a different gardening calendar.
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