‘Nobody gets more fidgety than a gardener” in New England’s springtime, the wonderful garden writer Elsa Bakalar observed. So true.
Last week when I ventured out I found I was leaving soggy footprints in the beds. I’ve learned the hard way that you can do serious damage to your soil by walking on it and working it when it’s too wet. You not only compact the soil so it becomes brick-like, but you damage the structure of the soil. I stifled my impatience.
Yesterday I was pleased to find that handfuls of soil clumped and crumbled in my hand, an indication that the soil isn’t too wet to work. Suddenly my perennial beds are sprouting, summoning me to get out my tools and start the season.
But where to begin?
My fidgetiness gave way to a seasonal bout of attention deficit disorder. I spent the morning flitting about like a hungry hummingbird (he’ll be here soon!) — pulling out handfuls of emerging weeds in one border, trying to locate markers I shoved into the day lily bed last summer, and trimming stalks of coneflower and other perennials outside the kitchen window. I had left these to overwinter for the birds.
Meanwhile, I reminded myself not to stomp on tiny shoots of bleeding heart and hosta.
Just to compound my inefficiency, I took a few minutes to dig out several volunteer buddleia bushes and plant them in an underpopulated slope behind the house. I considered consulting the Internet before launching into what could be a fool’s errand, but my hands were too dirty. All the while I chided myself for not making a plan before I got started.
At lunchtime, I pulled out Bakalar’s invaluable book “A Garden of One’s Own” and read, for the 10th or 20th time, her thoughts on springtime in the garden. Like all the best gardening writers, she motivates without intimidating. Here are some of her suggestions, loosely paraphrased by me:
n If the ground is still soft, place a board to stand on where you’re working to distribute your weight so you don’t leave footprints.
n Cut back any plants that you left over the winter, being careful not to disturb new growth. Garden grasses add wonderful focal points to the winter garden, but now it’s time to cut them back so that new growth can emerge unimpeded by last year’s mop of dried, dead grass.
n As you clean up your beds, take care that you don’t disturb late emerging plants such as balloon flowers and butterfly weed. Even if you did mark their location last year, you probably won’t remember whether you placed your marker in front of the plant or behind it. Work gingerly till you’re sure you know what is where.
n It’s hard to know in the beginning whether tiny green shoots are beloved plants or pernicious weeds. You can adopt the “when in doubt, don’t pull it out” approach, or the opposite.
Or you can avoid the confusion by purchasing a pocket-sized guide to common weeds that has helpful illustrations. Bakalar assures us to “take heart: Gradually you’ll be able to recognize more plants by their young leaves.”
n This is a good time to divide overgrown clumps of perennials such as Siberian iris, day lilies, sedum, epimedium, and Shasta daisies.
Smaller, more tender plants can be gently pulled apart to make divisions. Others, like day lilies, require tough love. If you have a willing partner and two garden forks, you can dig out the entire clump, insert the forks back to back in the middle, and pry the clump apart.
If you don’t have a willing partner or multiple forks, I have found that a sharp knife is another option. You will damage more roots, of course, and your cut will look less natural, but the plants will recover their natural appearance in time. And you won’t have a partner complaining about an achy back!
n Some shrubs such as buddleia and Russian sage need to be pruned hard to the ground so that new growth can begin. But don’t prune spring-flowering shrubs such as forsythia and lilac until after they’ve bloomed.
Here is her description of getting started in springtime: “There comes that wonderful day in spring — early some years, later in others — when I first go out into the garden. There may be snow still under the hedges and against the stone walls, but it’s gone from the garden. I can see the first signs of growth from the perennials, perhaps a sharp chartreuse or soft blue-green. That’s all it takes, the merest suggestion of color against the dark damp earth, and another gardening year has begun for me.”
If that doesn’t inspire you to go out and get your hands dirty, I don’t know what will.
Local naturalist John Root will talk about using edible perennials in the garden on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Jones Library in Amherst.
Root’s presentation will feature the variety of trees, shrubs, vines, canes and herbaceous perennials that can be grown in New England for bountiful harvests of fruits, nuts and vegetables.
Participants will learn how to establish and care for these plants using organic methods of cultivation. They will also learn about the nutritional and medicinal benefits of the plants.
Questions and comments are welcome throughout the presentation, and handouts with a list of edible perennial plant species, resources for further study, and recommended plant nurseries will distributed at the conclusion of the program.
This event is free and open to the public. It is sponsored in part by a grant from the Amherst Cultural Council, a local agency that is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
For more information, contact Janet Ryan at 259-3223.
Those of us who are lucky enough to live in the Pioneer Valley should count our blessings. We have an incredible variety of locally produced edibles and a deep pool of talented culinary artisans.
The spring 2016 volume of “Edible Pioneer Valley” celebrates these riches. This lovely, well-written magazine is full of interesting information about local food sources and businesses and seasonal recipes.
Complimentary copies of are available at Whole Foods and numerous other venues in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties. You can support this worthy publication by purchasing a yearly subscription.
“Sustainability on Campus & Main Street” is the topic of the 5th annual Massachusetts Sustainable Campuses Conference (and the 6th annual Massachusetts Sustainable Communities Conference). The conference will be held at Hampshire College April 15 and at the Academy of Music at 274 Main St., Northampton April 16.
The conference aims to bring together people from government, education, business, nonprofits and anyone interested in sustainable development. There will be 20 exhibitors and 75 speakers, including town and state government officials, state representatives, campus sustainability officers, landscape designers, conservation lawyers and city planners.
Topics range from climate change to grass roots organizations to sustainable building design. There is truly something for everyone at this event.
The cost is $50 per day.
For more information, go to http://masustainablecommunities.com/
Conference registration is at http://masccc.event- brite.com.
To register as an exhibitor, contact JenBoudrie@gmail.com, or at 508-481-0569.