Brrr!!

Of course, spring in Minnesota means crazy temps. Last week we had 60 degrees, and today it's barely above freezing. The daffodils have about an inch of stem peeking up out of the ground. Rhubarb is actually making an appearance, as are some of my asiatic lilies. I'm just hoping it really hits 70 degrees next week as is currently forecast. Wouldn't that make a nice spring break.

There is still a lot of raking to do in the lawn. As I was out there today (freezing, I might add!), I was thinking about how to expand the shade garden by the road. I read a great article about martagon lilies in Northern Gardener this month. Too bad they're hard to find and take even longer to come to bloom. But in ten years I'll have wished I had taken the time to plant some now. It seems from my little research that they're fall planting bulbs. I would love to connect with some Minnesota gardeners who have had success with these flowers.

It's time!

I was able to get out in the gardens a little this weekend and clear out the leaves that I used to cover everything for the winter. I cut back old growth as I had left everything as is (except for the lilies) for the winter so birds could find some winter seeds. I discovered the following already peeking up to say hello:
daffodils
creeping yellow sedum
geum
pink mallow
bee balm
evening primrose
jacobs ladder
Autumn Joy sedum
bachelor button
rudbekia


Tomorrow I'm hoping to get in the shade garden to see what good stuff is coming along there. So much fun!

March Thaw

Wow, have we been having gorgeous weather! It's been above 60 degrees the last two days here with lows above freezing. All of our snow has melted and I'm waiting to see signs of daffodils peeking out through the layer of leaves in the garden. It's tempting to start poking around but I know I could do more damage than good right now until the ground thaws.