Gertrude's Flower Garden Weekly Diary

5/3/02 - Well, I am finally finished planting the over one thousand flower seedlings that I raised in the basement garden beginning last December. I don't usually finish this early as you can see by checking the "Diary" for the last two years, but I am going to visit my "California family" for about two weeks in early May, and I wanted to get all of my planting done before I left. This meant that I had to take some chances with late frosts, but so far none of my plants has been lost. The last large planting that I made was of Impatiens on April 26, when I finshed planting in all of the shady beds. I didn't plant Impatiens in the back of the rockgarden this year, because it usually gets so dry there in summer, and this year we are faced with water restrictions. The very last things that I planted were some poorly developed seedlings of several varieties that I thought would be better off in the ground than languishing in boxes. So--that's that for this year.
One of the fun things about growing your own plants from seeds is watching those first flowers bloom. When you buy your plants at the garden mart, they are usually already in bloom, but, except for the Impatiens many of which were in bloom, none of my plants had flowers when I set them out during April. Now the first of the Marigolds, Petunias, Star Zinnias, Love-in-the-Mist, and Lobellia are blooming. It is always exciting to see the first flowers on new varieties that I hadn't grown before. In doing my final plantings, I was careful not to do too much cultivating in the beds, because the "volunteers" are coming up! Already I have noticed Celosia, Cleome, Larkspur, Balsam, Coleus, and even baby Impatiens pushing up. When I get back from my trip, I will have to get busy planting "volunteers" on which I depend every year, since I don't grow any of these varieties in the basement garden. My daughter is coming back with me; I plan to put her to work!
This week's picture is of one of Gertrude's favorite flowers, Lily-of-the-Valley (Convallaria majalis), which, with Gardenias, were her wedding flowers. Let me quote from my favorite bulb supplier's catalogue: "The world's most beloved weed-excluding ground cover. What would springtime be without the gentle, romantic scent of lily-of-the-valley wafting across the yard? Under the right conditions--humusy soil and part to full shade--this old favorite makes a superb, dense groundcover that you will never fuss over, just enjoy." One caveat: lovely as they are, these plants are very invasive. Gertrude planted them in every nook and corner, but I still think of her fondly as I battle her Lilies-of-the-Valley to keep them in check

ntgates@worldnet.att.net