It's the busy season

It's panic season! You know you have so much to do and only so much time. The weather is telling you "no," but June, July and August are a wisp away.

Because the bulk of the planting is done in May, it's a busier-than-normal month for gardeners. Instead of panicking, pace yourself.

As with a lot of areas in my life, I use the triage method. What is shrieking the loudest? The dandelions that need weeding? The empty window boxes that need planting? The discolored hemlock that needs fertilizing? Or the husband's request that I get the tomatoes bought early? That last one I have a little leverage with, bargaining that when he gets his sailboat into the water, the tomatoes will be duly planted.

Tasks await like traffic crossing the Bourne Bridge on the Memorial Day weekend. Window boxes. Weeding. Digging. Pruning. Dividing (certain) perennials. Fertilizing. Liming the lawn. Cleaning out the shed where some animal will have inevitably done damage. Adding supports to flop-prone perennials.

For the vegetable gardener, spring is even more arduous.

Although I put out my fig tree well over a month ago, I'm still waiting for consistently milder weather to get the plants for my window boxes. You have to consider the adjustment from warm, cushy nursery greenhouses to outdoors with its wild rain and lingering cold.

When night temperatures are 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, you can sow seeds of tender annuals outdoors and set out seedlings of tender perennials grown annually. Most tropicals can safely be moved back outdoors at these temperatures, too, write Jacqueline Heriteau and Holly Hunter Stonehill in their guide, "Month-by-Month Gardening in New England."

"When danger of frost is past (May 30 for us) move pots of lily-of-the-Nile and other tender bulbs and tropicals that wintered indoors in containers outside for a summer of R&R. Groom the plants. Repot those in small containers in fresh potting mix. Top dress those too large to repot by replacing the top two inches of soil with compost."

"Where spring bulbs leave gaps, make successive sowings of zinnias and annual phlox. Make second and third plantings of petunia seedlings in window boxes and hanging baskets," they advise.

You can remove tulip foliage when it has yellowed halfway down; if you hope to grow perennial tulips, fertilize them now, they add: "Darwin hybrids and species tulips should be encouraged. Tulips that sent up foliage but failed to bloom this year should be discarded or moved to an out-of-the-way spot to mature."


It is now time to harden off tuberous begonias and other bulbs started indoors to a sheltered spot before setting them in their permanent summer location in a week's time.

Don't get so wrapped up in your tasks that you overlook the splendor. You may not even need to go far. Off my back deck I relish the beautiful tulips that announce spring has sprung. As spring gardens begin to peak, visit public and private gardens and record the plant combinations you wish were blooming in your own garden right now. Evaluate your spring garden and your responses to it.

Garden Club Sales

Local gardening organizations will be holding plant sales Saturday to facilitate spring gardeners' needs. The sales are vital fund-raisers that benefit many community projects. For local gardeners, sales are a great opportunity to get healthy seedlings and plants at a reasonable price.

The Wareham Garden Club's plant sale takes place 9 a.m. to noon at the Fellowship Hall of the First Congregational Church on Gibbs Avenue. The club will offer free soil tests and demonstrations for making a container for your garden. Items for sale will include perennials that have been grown by club members, as well as a healthy assortment of annuals, herbs, vegetables and more.
The Garden Club of Buzzards Bay will hold its annual plant sale 9 a.m. to noon at St. Mary's Church in South Dartmouth. Plants in the following categories will be available: annuals, boxwood, dahlias, geraniums, herbs, ground covers, perennials, many of the latter having been dug from members' gardens. Heirloom tomatoes will also be back by popular demand. All plants are ready to plant and some, such as succulents, are already in planters.
Dovetailing with the GCBB sale is the Padanaram Garden Market, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Congregational Church on Middle Street. Along with plants will be artisan crafts, baked goods and a silent auction.


It will take strategy to get to all of these sales and even more to get everything planted.