The gardens are all planted and the greenhouse completely empty. All the baby plants are in the ground. The tropical and sub-tropical greenhouse plants are all outside either in their summer home or waiting to be placed there. Emily took on the task of hosing the greenhouse down yesterday so it looks marvelously clean and ready for a hot summer with nothing in it.

Every last flat of baby plants has found a home somewhere. When I started putting all these little plants into various gardens a month or two ago, I thought I had a plan for every plant but there are always a good half dozen flats of seedlings that leave me scratching my head- Did I really think I would need sixty five Rosemary plants and did I even contemplate how on earth I would overwinter them when they are teenage plants- as if there was ANY room available in the already way overstuffed greenhouse? How much Mexican Hat Plant can one garden contain? Really? And was it really necessary to plant a flat of Chinese Forget Me Nots when they self sow everywhere, and there is not a single place to put them where there isn’t already a volunteer Chinese Forget Me Not growing?

Having worked my way through the mysteries of my late winter “decision-making” about what to grow and how much (mostly by wandering all the gardens to find any square inch of open dirt to stuff plants into), the focus now returns to weeding and watering- It is so important for us to keep watering the Red Shiso rows until the seeds germinate. Red Shiso likes love and songs and silliness so we had a good time planting the seeds- and now I try to go out there and water with a light heart, but it is always lovely when its distinctive seedlings start to pop up- always a moment of relief as that is one crop we must have.

I am also working to pack the cold frames with the tropical and subtropical greenhouse plants. I trim each plant and then the ones that want full sun, I sink in their pots into peat moss in the cold frames. The shade loving plants go into the Arbor Garden and the geraniums and agapanthus go into the garden out front where the goldfish pool is. Being outside gives every plant a chance to rid itself of bugs accumulated over the winter and generally get more light and wonderful cleansing rain. Everything looks so very much happier after a summer outside.

Here is a confusing shot of the cold frames mid- process. I still have so many plants to situate in the cold frames, and then Jim will return with the plants that live in his sixth grade classroom for the year, and there will be more to squeeze in. Apparently, in all departments I live by the motto, “More is More”.

I have been posting photos of the garden on Facebook this spring so check that out if you want more photos of the garden. I am trying to post a photo most every day but sometimes the garden tasks get the better of me. Tying up the Roses is another preoccupation. They don’t much like being roped in but it has to happen for a lot of them. The rustling in the bushes around here is usually me wrestling with an enormous Rose and nothing more exciting.

Here is Sarah Van Fleet this foggy morning looking so lovely.