Mid-Atlantic Grower columns

Spring’s in bloom

Garden Talk

May 2013

By CAROL KINSLEY, Editor

Now this is what spring should be like! My garden is full of color, thanks mostly to new tulip bulbs planted last fall that the squirrels didn't find. The blue pansies I planted along with grape hyacinths are a perfect match and are even color-coordinated with the blue flowers, which may be Chionodoxa luciliae, which I transplanted from my mother's house in Charlotte, N.C.
The forsythia bloomed, the bleeding heart survived and it is so nice to see all the perennials coming back. Even the hydrangea sent to me as trial plants by Proven Winners, which had outgrown the spot where I stuck them when they were tiny plants, are thriving after transplanting last fall. I was worried I'd lose some, but they all have healthy new leaves.
The weather may be cool, but I'm most comfortable working outdoors in sweat pants and a long-sleeved sweat shirt, so this is my kind of weather!
My husband and grandsons built a stacked stone wall by the side of the garage, which I have to be careful not to hit as I'm backing up the car, but it looks great! I'm sure the vinca that has insisted on growing there will soon be spilling over the wall. I just need a tall, columnar evergreen that won't get more than 4 feet wide and will grow in the shade to put under the peak of the roof. Former Sussex County Extension agent Jay Windsor, owner of Lakeside Greenhouses in Laurel, Del., told me, "You're not asking for much!" I've discovered one variety of arborvitae that meets the criteria — now I just have to find one that's available at a price I can afford! Meanwhile, who knows what I'll find at nurseries. What fun!