Daffodil Season

Daffodils may be mundane, but they are one of the top choices I continually make- absolutely a great investment. I like the ones that actually look like daffs are supposed to look like, not exotic colors or shapes. They last and last, going on literally for decades. And deer and squirrels don't care for them. In one of my best inspirations ever, I gave 200 daffodil bulbs to some friends that got married and bought property in upstate NY. I made a trip to help plant them. I hear they are still going strong.

Other testaments to their longevity: there was some daff foliage in my back yard the year I got here (1997), in a shady, trampled spot. The yard changed - trees were removed, tramping patterns changed, and after about a decade they bloomed for the first time. That section of the yard had a very rough year last year, with home renovations and fence construction, so I see the foliage but I don't know if they will bloom.

Back in the utility section, these were here before I got here.

There are other daffs that predate my arrival, though, that are still going strong. And most (but not all) of the bulbs I've planted over the last 22 years are still going strong. Of the bulbs I planted last fall, most are not yet blooming, only just sticking their foliage up. (I read this is typical for the first year, and possibly not driven by the fact I only planted them very late, the week before my knee surgery in December.)

Not robust, but still going.

Curb appeal? I planted lots, and not all survive.
A new wall, a new curb, repairs to the wall,
and trampling all big stressors

Front walk

By the front door

Spring is slowly springing..

The crocuses popped open yesterday, all over the yard.

Minor steps forward

Just a couple of hours spent outside. I spread some beautiful LeafGro on the emerging daylilies along the street, just one bag. I need many more bags, but they are heavy and I was not able to lift a whole bag that was wet inside. So I wrassled one into a shopping cart, then the trunk of the car, then flipped it out into the street, all without it ever being held completely aloft. I'm hoping both that dryer bags will be lighter, and that I will continue to get stronger.

I did some pruning:  the pagoda dogwood by the front window, the fringe tree, the white pine over the fringe tree, and lastly I cut the big, horizontal, branches of the butterfly bush by the back door.

The big job I did was trash the old deer cage around the back bed. I ordered, and received, a pre-made cage from Gardener's Supply. It only took about 20 minutes to trash it - most of the wood I was able to snap into manageable sized pieces, and the plastic netting tore easily. I haven't deployed the new one yet - I figure I'll wait until it's dry enough to turn the bed over, fortify it, and then put in the new cage. Not sure what I'll grow - I was thinking melons and squash this year. Maybe just a cherry tomato?

Meanwhile, most of what was blooming last week is still going, and in fact is looking better. Only the early crocus, which I forgot about until I saw last week's post. I went out to look, and they are still there, but closed up tight because of the gloomy weather.

Some of the hellebore lift their heads up, but most are pointed down.

This keeps looking better and better.

Still sparse blooms

Look close - closed up tight.