So much for thirty years...

This week was the first sunny, clear, nice weather, and hurricane (I exaggerate a tad) that we have had this season. Something about Spring like a tiger...The appearance of the sun ( it is back to being gray today as it has for much of March) Saturday and Sunday brought out the colors of Spring. Yellow is in force now. Daffodils, Forsythia, hyacinths and crocus, are out in force. The latter two have started to wane, but depending on the garden, in New Jersey, they are blooming. It is resplendent to see the sun shining and all manner of daffodils out.

We have had a few rain showers that have clobbered the large double or triple daffodils. I don't know which variety I have. I never did. Somewhere along the line there was an offer of 100 assorted daffodils for a silly price and I took two hundred! The results are quite spectacular as I have a gravel walkway that is lined with two somewhat formal planting beds and whose edges are lined with what appear to be a thousand or more daffodils. It has been ten years since I planted them so they appear to be Christian daffodils as they have gone out and multiplied. It creates quite a spectacle of unmatched daffodils. Unmatched because they are of different colors and sizes. There are small, medium and large trumpets and then there are those that don't look anything like daffodils. I will call these the lion mane ones. They are so huge that the first drop of rain they collapse and break their own stem. What seems a pity in fact is quite the opposite. Not all of these monsters do collapse leaving enough of them in the garden to balance the beds and I go out and cut most of the collapsed one which makes the house reek of daffodils. Yes, they are lovely and fragrant, but this morning I have a splitting sinus headache that I am sure it is from the bounty of nature as I never get them otherwise. I did have fun spending some time in the sun and looking at what else is in bloom or building up steam.

A Star Magnolia has been throwing a show of its own. I planted this 15' tree when it was a foot tall about...well at the same time as the daffodils. The squirrels showed me how much they loved this tree as they sat on the branches and were munching on the white/pink blossoms as though they were some kind of banana eating monkeys. Needless to say I did not allow this type of Smörgåsbord to continue.

the treacherous clematis/rose trap

All this wonderful weather pointed out deficiencies that needed to be corrected. I have two clematis ( Montana Rubens and Sweet Autumn ) intertwined along the remains of my electric dog fence (more on that for another time). They grow so vigorous and dieback equally that it produces quite a mass of debris that the birds use to make their nests. I usually leave it for a few years before I clear it up again back to a few solitary canes start the process all over again.

The wires are stretched to create the effect of a curtain on my rear porch facing my neighbors. I enjoy my neighbors but enjoy coming out to the porch without having to offer salutations every single time. A space of about eight by twelve is covered by the combined efforts of these two incredible growing vines. Over time I have added layers to the layers that includes some climbing roses for even more dramatic effect.

The brown pile of twigs looks a mess and I thought I would do a quick cleanup with a tug of the dead branches. I had forgotten all about the roses when I stuck my hand in the dead debris for a quick tug. My ungloved hand ripped into the thorns of the rose and the rest you know. So much for thirty years of garden experience.

my lion's mane daffodil

Garden, often times make you do things on impulse. Hopefully you learn but it is not critical if you don't.