When do you know it's time to begin your spring clean-up? Andy saved me an article that had a different garden chore for each day. Articles like that are written well in advance and in actuality are only worthwhile as a list of garden chores. In real life mother nature (aka the weather) has everything to do with deciding on which garden chore can or should be done.
Early this week our garden was covered in snow and ice and I had no plan to begin clean-up. Temperatures in the upper 50's and the amazing sight of this Hellebore that began to bloom with a vengeance changed my mind. It's instinct, I suddenly knew it was time to begin removing all the winter leaves from the beds.
I spent much of the day filling bag after bag with leaves and I was in all my glory.
This morning we made our first trip of the season to Home Depot to get some tools and potting soil. Their pansies were ok but not what I really wanted so we stopped at Fort Hill Nursery on the way home where I got a juicy flat filled with pansies and a few pots of Johnny Jump-ups.
Unlike yesterday though today was raw and cold with occasional periods of drizzling rain. Ugh... but I was determined to do more clean-up.
On the side of our cottage (as you look at it here) there's a little spot on the right of the porch. It's sheltered on three sides by the porch the house and a picket fence. In the fall we placed all my succulent pots in this area and left the fallen leaves where they fell.
It's not the most attractive sight but it's the perfect holding area to overwinter potted plants.
As I started to remove the leaves I was thrilled to see how well everything wintered over. The Sempervivum (Hens & Chicks) and various varieties of Sedum looked great.
Calie spent the day supervising from her new favorite spot.
Look how beautiful these pots are! They are chock full of succulents and with a bit of sun and warmth they are just going to explode.
Sempervivum come in different colors, sizes and shapes. During the summer heat they lose their colors but this time of year the colors are super vibrant. I can't wait to start to repot these babies, it's one of my favorite garden pastimes.
So what are you doing in the garden right now?
