Visiting Jerusalem

While traveling in Israel I had the privilege of bypassing hotels to stay in the Mishkenot Sha’ananim Guesthouse, open by invitation to visiting scholars, writers, authors and musicians.  Fitting into none of those categories, they still gave me a room because I was attending a meeting.

A Visit to London

Every self-indulgent person should develop the habit of denying oneself at least one coveted item.  In my case it is a subscription to the Financial Times.  A curious choice you might think, but not if you are denying yourself a weekly visit with Robin Lane Fox who writes about gardens for the Friday/Saturday edition.  He has been doing so for decades, although primarily engaged in teaching Greek and Roman History at Oxford.

May Calendar

WEEK ONE

Keep your gift plants indoors until the nights are consistently warm.

Prune forsythia and other spring- flowering shrubs whenever the blooms are finished.

If the soil is not sticky, sow seeds of hardy vegetables and flowers. Make sure night temperatures are steady at or above 55F.

You might be able to keep pansies blooming through early July by picking off the dead blossoms so that seeds will not form.  If they are planted in a shady spot for part of the day, they will bloom even longer.

If you are growing lavender, prune it back hard to encourage new growth.

Cut back Russian sage, leaving just six to twelve inches of woody growth.  Pinch out the tips of new growth to encourage a bushier form.

If you see ants on peony buds, leave them in peace; they are harmless.

Daffodils

      This has been a dark and gloomy April, with only a few bright spots. You had to move quickly to catch the magnolias between the moment of bloom and the decimation of heavy rains. I was away for the early part of the month in London and Jerusalem (more about that later) and when I returned there was nothing much to report on but daffodils.
 
That being said, there is hardly any plant more gratifying than the large family of daffodils; they are the true harbingers of spring. When the first yellow trumpets bloom, you know spring is really here. They are the same brilliant yellow as forsythia, but quite different from the earlier blooming jonquils. Their botanical name is narcissus, but they are often referred to as both daffodils and narcissi, but also sometime as jonquils (which you hear more often in the south), further complicating this large family of related plants.

The Season Begins

April is always slow to arrive, or so it seems. The few warm days we expect in March often bow low before temperatures more suitable to February. But we know there are better days in store.