How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mistress Mary, Quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With Silver Bells, And Cockle Shells, And so my garden grows.

Tommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book (1744)

Will I ever take a before picture? Probably not. We aren’t totally in the clear as far as warm weather goes, but this killer week of 60° and above is making it magic for getting some work done.

I did a round of clean out in the fall, but we have so many trees around us you’d never know it. I started with a good rake-out. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many bulbs are sprouting up! Athena and I planted a line of white tulips and daffodils and I’m thrilled to see them coming up! I also have a bunch of poppies that had started coming up last year during a warm spell. They’re still kicking and I’m thrilled because I loved the white poppies last year.

I had such big plans last year and most of them got put on the back burner because I was pregnant. I am over the moon excited to be able to crush it this year. Our little house does not have the greatest curb appeal. I’m determined to change that this year.

We had some beautiful weather last week and we lived outside. I had some adorable garden helpers.

We walked around to see what was already coming up for the year. The previous owners literally just threw bulbs around. I have blobs of daffodils and tulips everywhere. Not to mention, the back was full of Lambs Ear. I love Lambs Ear and pulled a patch of it last year. Lambs Ear is semi-invasive, and that stuff is sprouting back up like I did kill myself pulling it.

I am tickled pink that a bunch of our herbs are doing so well! The whole point of the bulk of our garden area is to support pollinators- specifically, butterflies. Last year, I was grossly under-prepared to feed caterpillars. We had 0 Monarch Butterflies, but we had a TON of Swallowtails of various varieties. Their host plants are Parsley, Dill, and Fennel. I’m happy to say our parsley is already crushing it.

The weather was so good I HAD to plant something. It was torturous knowing that it was going to be so nice for such a brief amount of time. I’m typing this as snow was falling this morning. But, we have our bay window set up for such a time as this. We used some plastic left-over containers (shout out to Chick-Fil-A) to set up a little greenhouse sort of system. We planted a whole patch of Flat and Curly Parsley, Dill, and Fennel. We also used 6 flat pots to replat the Catmint! I am so excited by how much Catmint has come up and I am determined to keep them going. I also have 2 unidentified plants growing. I’m fairly certain they may be Delphinium, but they could be Larkspur, Lupine, or Foxgloves.

Last but not least, we “planted” some Marigolds. I use the term loosely as we did not water them, which means they are still dormant. Last Spring Athena painted a collection of terra cotta pots. My parents also hooked us up with a menagerie of animal pots. The animal pots with Crackerjack Marigolds will go in our awkward square space betwixt the deck, driveway, porch, and walkway. I am planting Snow in Summer as a low ground cover to fill the space, keep weeds down, and contrast the bright Marigolds popping out.