Top 5 Spring Things, So Far

1. Germinating seeds in paper towels - I like being able to check if things are germinating, and then control exactly where the germinated seed goes. (Instead of sowing too thickly, waiting to see if anything is happening, and then having to yank out half the seedlings just when they really get going.)

2. Greens in fish boxes - no critter damage. To bad they are not large enough to block our view of the neighbor's stalled construction project. One has to develop tunnel-vision in a narrow urban garden.


3. How nicely the path works to neaten the back of the yard. A disorganized patch becomes "a bed" inside the curve.


4. The huge growth on last year's clearance-rack perennials. The Salvia "Caradona" is going to be fabulous next to the Yarrow "Terra Cotta". The yarrow is just covered in flower buds. The hosta and the groundcover sedum are also looking good together. Even the little native lyre-leafed sage is more robust. Hopefully, the guara I moved to a pot will still bloom as wildly as last year.


5. Grand Theft Sedum - I stole a cutting from a plant in the landscaping of a fast food restaurant. It looks like Sedum Matrona, instead of the Autumn Joy one sees everywhere. Why keep clippers in the glovebox if one is not going to use them? Brought it right home, dipped it in root hormone, and planted it. Hope it roots, and that lightening doesn't strike me down.