As so many of you across the country may know, spring has come very early here in New England. A riot of blooming trees and shrubs are exploding all around us. The flowering crab apples are the latest to present themselves in my yard. The Dr. Merrill magnolias are long gone. My single redbud that I grew from a whip finally is covered in little hot pink buds for the first time ever. The PJM rhododendrons are in their full fuchsia exuberance. Tulips are on the heels of the daffodils, and the shad are blooming on the edges of the pink tinted maple forest. This is one of my favorite times of year. The fuzzy forest green still allows you to peer through the branches to the scenery beyond. Even the most humble of tree and shrub is decked out with the most ornate jewelry to attend its yearly mating dance. Once again we inhale the fragrance of spring, and, full of promise, head out to the garden.
This year I was able to get a head start on so many fronts. I was out digging up dandelions and thinning my raspberry canes. Let me add this confession; I am not a hard worker in the garden. I love to sit in the sun and enjoy the view. I also like to spend my time outside walking around imagining what improvements I will make that year. So you see, ther is little time for actually doing the work that the garden requires. Fortunately I have a dedicated and talented gardener, Joel Faucher, who comes in the spring and rakes and fertilizes and sows grass seed where necessary. Her is a link to his website. http://livityearth.com/index.html You will be able to see a few views of my yard artfully presented.
I stopped by a local discount store last week and found that they had received a shhipment of shrubs. This can be a wonderful find if you get them fast before the good ones are gone or befor the untrained sales staff has had a chance to kill them. I located the last five boxwood - just the number I need to finish my allee. They also had the hard to find De Groots Spire arborvitae. I snatched up 7 of these young shrubs for $5 each. I think that I will replace the yews in my allee with arborvitae as the deer think the yews are too tasty a snack. Will move yews closer to the house where they may stand a better chance. Next time I will tell you about my plans for planting trees this year.
