the musings of the cottage gardener: perennials

Making the earth laugh

"the earth laughs in flowers" -e.e.cummings This blog is a journey into that laughter. From my childhood when my job was weeding the dreaded vegetable garden (which I despised with every fiber of my being) to my very early adulthood when I planted my first impatiens (which promptly died) to now - a gardening lover and business owner; gardens have made me feel something. This is my tribute to the hard work, the boring work, the failures and the immeasurable joys of gardening. Yes, I continue to garden...and laugh.

Friday, May 7, 2010

just say no

I know what you're doing. You're frothing at the mouth at all the beautiful flowers being sold everywhere you turn. 'It's warm outside', you say, 'I bet it's safe to plant now; they wouldn't sell the flowers if it weren't safe to plant'. DON'T DO IT! A few warm days does not mean it's safe to plant your annuals. It could still frost and wipe them out. I know...I've done it.

Did you know that Mother's Day weekend is the biggest gardening retail weekend of the year? We just go crazy buying flowers...and don't even tell me it's all for your mom! Grocery stores, Mega Hardware stores, roadside tents and even gas stations are selling us flowers right now. That doesn't make it time to plant, it makes it time to sell (where I live, Northeast PA, there is a chance of frost until May 15 this year). Let me qualify that, though. You can still plant perennials and hardy annuals, but leave the impatiens and other tender annuals alone for a bit. What I usually do is plant my containers now (because I can easily move or cover them if there is a chance of frost) and hold off on the rest until after threat of frost.

Many of you may have early planting success stories; if so, you were lucky. My advice is to wait. Just say no.