To borrow a witty line from my aunt, after a prolonged fall, spring has sprung in New England.
About half of the bulbs our Phantom Gardener planted last fall have popped. The daffodils first, and now the tulips.
I’m told our yellow tulips are supposed to be white, and so perhaps ones that have not yet popped still might. Either way, I do love the cheery yellow.
The creeping phlox, along with some grape hyacinth and some hyacinths Mom brought for Easter are also adding some nice color to the planting bed along the driveway.
The clematis Denise gave us our first summer really is taking off in its third year. I didn’t pull it down over the very mild winter and Ryan thinks there’s something to that. The next shot is the clematis my mom and I planted last year, which is beginning also to come up.
I believe this is the pink Parrot Plant Mom planted last year.
I’m also very excited to welcome back some other plantings, including our lovely blush pink peony, the Bee Balm and the rhubarb Dad put in last year. Also returning are our two blue hydrangea, the American Ground Nut, and some transplanted lilacs and forsythia.
We cleared some more layers of debris off over by the tree Dad and Ryan took down last fall and the lilacs are doing a great job filling in (and loving the new light, I’m sure!).
Post-wedding our mature lilacs (just pictured) are getting a serious haircut. We’re using the blooms at the rehearsal dinner, and then will be doing some cut throat pruning. When we do have snow, the lilacs sink over the driveway under the weight of the snow and during the spring, their blooms seriously encroach on our very wee driveway. Dad and our Tree Guy friend Matt explained that lilacs send new shoots through running roots, so you can cut them down to nothing and still not risk killing the tree. We’ve also been wistfully discussing a new fence ‘round the full property…
All this is well and good, but Miss Tela Moo is particularly excited for the return of the Plum Island Sea Grass. It’s her favorite summertime delicacy.
What a weirdo.
