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.

Ornamental maintenance

I am pretty focused on edibles this year, but I still get a lot of enjoyment out of the ornamentals. I need to do some work on those, too. I am still preparing to move away from this house, so I have more to dig up and move to Mom's yard.

Things to move this month:
- From the front planter: Bee Balm and Salvia. Mom has a lot of Sedums, but I guess I should move those after I take a lot of cuttings. I will fill the front with annuals - maybe I can find some good stuff at the Oley Vo-tech plant sale.
- From the alley - everything but the mint. The peony, the salvias, the iris. The passionflower won't sprout until almost June, then it will cover the back fence and attract all those rowdy bees.
- From the the back yard: I can move the rest of the iris after they bloom. I'll miss it anchoring the end of the border, but I can plant some early summer veg or herbs in their place. I should move the Bloodgrass, too (done).

Cuttings to make:
- Salvia - they are all looking strong, so I want to progagate more of them. I am especially loving the Salvia nemorosa 'Caradona' that I bought almost dead for 50 cents from the clearance rack at Lowes and nursed back to health.
- Sedums - I will cut them back to 4" soon, when they are 8" tall, and I can root all the cuttings
- False Indigo - It is going to bloom this year, so I don't want to disturb it, but I also don't want to leave it behind - so cuttings are called for. I read that I should stick cuttings in May, and that I need to have one bud node below the rooting medium.