It's the first of May and already the daffodils are mostly gone. 'Pink Charm' is still looking charming and pink, and the 'Delibes' are hanging on, but the unseasonably warm temperatures and strong, hot winds have just about done the rest of them in.
As I was cutting off the heads of the spent ones today, I realized that we have put yet another phase of spring behind us. Where does the time go?
Where does it go indeed...
May 1st is always a day of reminiscing for me and this year, I'm taken back even one more year than I was last year. Twenty-nine years, to be exact. At 6:45 in the evening on this date in 1980, Romie and I became parents for the first time. Happy birthday, Kara!
I remember her first birthday, too. The weather had been nice for several weeks and because we were having a big whoop-de-do at our house, where we would all sit around and grin while Kara decorated her face with her birthday cake, I wanted the outside of the house to look a little bit nicer. I went to town and bought several annuals and proceeded to plant them around.
Those were the days when I knew next-to-nothing about plants, flowers, and last frost dates. When Mom and Dad got here, Mom sounded a bit alarmed as she told me it really was a bit early to plant annuals. Our average last frost date isn't until the middle of May. "But why did the store have them for sale then?" I asked.
The party was fun and our house looked festive, all decorated outside with I-don't-remember-what-but-it-probably-involved-petunias. Luckily, the days went by and the temperatures stayed high and nary a plant was lost, but that was an early lesson in gardening before I even cared about gardening.
I'm taking chances again this year, probably because I like to live on the edge a little, when it comes to my garden. I planted my tomato plants today - 'Brandywine' and 'Red Cherokee' - both heirlooms. If you walked around a bit, you'd find quite a few annuals that made it into the ground today, too. Over a week ago, our weatherman said he didn't expect us to see night time temperatures into the 30s again for a very long time. I took him at his word, because you know how accurate those weathermen are at predicting the weather.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Once Upon a Day in May
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"Bejeweled"
2 comments:
That "Pink Charm" daff is a real stunner! Yes, most of my daffs are done too and so wandered around the yard last evening pinching off the spent blossoms. It's is a little sad, but wait...over there...dwarf iris blooming. And perennial geranium. And...
Yes, while the daffs reigned supreme for almost a month and pulled us out of the winter drearies, now many other plants are starting to bloom. They'll get lots of attention too. But, I'm thinking, not quite as much as those early daffodil trumpets heralding the change of season. :-D
We have one tomato planted and it is a purple cherokee. I didn't know it was a heirloom. I just liked the name of it. We all have learned those little lessons over the years. It is fun, for the most part, to look back and remember them. They are the lessons we don't forget. Just like your beautiful daughter. You will never forget her.
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