Except for throwing out a few wildflower seeds between snowfalls this winter, I didn’t do anything for my garden. I wanted to see what of the perennials would come up again and what annuals would reseed themselves so that I wouldn’t plant over something I wanted. Not as many flowers as I expected came up again this year. In fact, as you can see, one of the areas in the bottom lefthand corner remains a blank slate. Oddly, that was one of the areas where the larkspur came up last year, but the larkspur garden moved a bit to the right. That wild growth along the path is where the grass died last year, and now I have a larkspur jungle. It should be gorgeous when the flowers bloom in another week or two, but seeing all those larkspurs was a bit of a surprise, to say the least.
I am grateful that the greensward to the right of the path is still doing well. Some people have mental health animals — I have a mental health lawn. I often stand at the back window and drink in the green. It makes me feel good, so it’s worth the effort to try to keep a lawn going.
Some of the grass that came back from near death last year is forming clumps and going to seed. Not attractive at all! It was just one of those flukes, I think. We had days of rain last week, which made the grass grow rapidly, and the ground was too wet to mow, so I got to see what would happen if I didn’t mow. Luckily, I enjoy mowing.
A nice surprise were the Siberian wallflowers. They were in a small package of wildflower seeds I’d planted three years ago, and not a single flower has ever bloomed. Well, this year, I have dozens of plants that are just coming into maturity. They are supposed to reseed themselves, which would be nice — I wouldn’t mind a swath of these cheerful little flowers.
The lilacs I planted when I first got here are growing fast now, and the blossoms are fully mature. Last year, I did get a lilac bunch or two, but they were scraggly.
It’s too soon to tell how anything else is doing. Well, the weeds, of course are doing well, and it won’t be long before I am unable to keep up with them. But for now, things are looking good!
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Pat Bertram is the author of Grief: The Inside Story – A Guide to Surviving the Loss of a Loved One. “Grief: The Inside Story is perfect and that is not hyperbole! It is exactly what folk who are grieving need to read.” –Leesa Healy, RN, GDAS GDAT, Emotional/Mental Health Therapist & Educator.
Bertram's Blog 
May 4, 2023 at 3:29 pm
I love all your photos. There’s definitely something very therapeutic about yard work (as long as the tasks are within our ability). My hubby likes to keep a lush, neatly mown lawn. My interest is in the flower beds, and I’m envying yours as ours are still in the very early spring stages of new growth. No flowers now that the spring bulbs are done, but I did create a pretty planter for the front porch recently, filled mostly with spring perennials–an hellebores, euphorbia, rosemary, heuchera, a fern, a few pansies, plus a red ranunculus. It should last for a few weeks and at least temporarily satisfy my desire for some colour!
May 4, 2023 at 4:30 pm
Your planter sounds lovely! I’m trying to figure out what I want to fill my gardens and hanging baskets with. Maybe I need to research a bit. Usually, I just get what’s available at the local hardware store.
May 5, 2023 at 8:40 am
Your yard is looking good for early May!! I’m sure it will continue on it’s beautiful path. I was thinking about you just now when I was trimming my wisteria tree and saw some purple blossoms. There are not many, just few and far between. Something like rain or cold got the vast majority. I don’t think what I saw as dead blooms will come back, but one never knows.
May 5, 2023 at 8:00 pm
Either way, it’s nice to be remembered!