With this morning’s bright sunshine and blue skies, I am overflowing with April garden thoughts. In fact, I’ve been thinking about this blog post for a couple of weeks ever since my blogging friend, Sonia, of Miss Bloomers, commented about working to enjoy spring on Facebook.
What is it to delight in spring? Do gardeners even know how to enjoy April or are we so busy with our to-do lists that we are blind to the miracles right in front of us?
For gardeners, is spring just a series of to-do lists?
After all, April’s garden thoughts could be anything, couldn’t they? I could list a series of April garden chores and tell you how to do them.
- Finish up trimming back the roses, and don’t forget to feed them. Pruning roses is a bit like parenting teenagers.
- Cut back perennials to new growth. Compost the tired stems unless they are diseased.
- Start seeds for tomatoes, eggplant and peppers, and other warm-weather vegetables.
- Mark empty garden spots for more spring-blooming bulbs like daffodils or tulips.
- Grow an Oklahoma summer vegetable garden.
- Order and plant summer-flowering bulbs like gladiolus, dahlias, etc.
- Quick, sow some spring lettuce or other greens. Radishes too!
- Don’t forget to mulch!
Breathless and not in a good way.
Whew! I feel fairly breathless from that list. If you’re a gardener, I bet you feel anxious in April too. How can we not? There is so much to do, so many seeds to buy and sow, beds to prep, etc. that we can get lost in our busyness. There are also allergies from all of the eastern redcedar trees that stir up our histamines, which can cause seasonal anxiety.
Drop the to-do list and ponder spring’s fleeting beauty.
Instead, I propose we ponder spring’s transient splendor. Watch the light green leaves unfurl in our native trees. It’s a good way to know the last freeze has come and gone. Gaze at the sunlight behind those leaves. Fruit trees and redbuds are finally in flower. They seemed to take forever this year.
Because my blood pressure went a bit nuts last week, I had to slow down, and it’s been good for me. Please don’t worry. I’m fine. We just had to adjust my medication. Since my mother died, it’s been one thing after another.
While I rested I read two books that truly spoke to me and to the quandary of gardeners and spring: Liturgy of the Ordinary Sacred Practices in Everyday Life, by Tish Harrison Warren, and My Grandfather’s Blessings Stories of Strength Refuge and Belonging, by Rachel Naomi Remen. Remen’s grandfather, an orthodox rabbi, saw the entire world as a web of interconnectedness and fearsome beauty. Both books speak to seeing the beauty and blessings in the ordinary, all of which turn out to be extraordinary gifts. Even difficult garden things like Japanese beetles and tomato hornworms.
If we don’t discover the extraordinary garden gifts of spring, when and where will we find them?
At the risk of being preachy, I suggest you sit in your garden with a notepad and think about one thing you really want from it this year. Or, if you’re techier, take your phone out–no, don’t scroll on social media. Instead, open your notes program and dictate what you want to see in your garden. Take a few photos and place those in your notes too. I do this all the time. It’s how I know which bulbs to buy in fall for example.
Then, take a walk.
After you make your notes, take an afternoon where you think you simply must get that latest project finished and go for a 30-minute walk in a garden you don’t tend. Something like Oklahoma City’s Myriad Gardens or Will Rogers Park. It’s good to get out of our chore mentality and just enjoy nature again. My hope is that you’ll return to your own garden refreshed and inspired.
For other inspiration, Carol and I have a new episode on the Gardenangelists’ podcast this week. You can find us almost everywhere these days. Also, I have to give us a small hurrah. Our podcast won 1st in the Podcast Category from the Woman’s Press Club of Indiana Communications Contest. It will now be judged nationally by the National Federation of Press Women.
Again, what do you truly want in your garden this year? Scale down your expectations and breathe.
You have plenty of time to create the garden of your dreams, but you need to build it step by step. Take time to ponder before doing. Remember to rest. Rest followed by hard work and careful attention are the ways to have a successful gardening year.
If you choose to try any of these ideas, please let me know in the comments what you discovered. I’d love to hear.
While there is much to be done in the garden in April, it’s May that is filled with endless chores and to-do lists, but of course that’s because I’m north of you. Here I’m still waiting for spring to really arrive, frozen mix expected this weekend. It will all get done eventually!
Hey Robin, I hear ya! I didn’t even get these wonderful comments answered. Sorry about that. I see on Facebook that your weather has settled down some, and it’s nearly May. Hip, hip hooray!~~Dee
Dear Dee, This is a wonderful “Rambling”, the best yet. Thank you yet again.
Della
Thank you so much Aunt Della!~~Dee
Thanks for the sweet mention Dee! My April list is long too but I’ve been taking it in small chuncks since my 65 year old body can’t work outside in the garden all day anymore. I am being forced to take it slower and as I sit on my patio looking over the garden I can rest, dream and enjoy what’s in bloom. This past week I’ve really enjoyed the Avanti daffodils in bloom. I’m going to add more this fall especially since the squirrels wont’ bother them like the tulips! . Glad you got your blood pressure under control and used the time to do some reading. Congratulations on the award for the Podcast!! How exciting!
Hey Sonia, I thought you were about 55 girl! I feel 110 after yesterday’s garden work. Ha! I need to go look up Avanti daffodils. It was great to see you at the scented plant sale today. What fun! I’ve come to really like this one daffodil I have that has a light yellow cup against white petals. I need to see what the variety is. Thanks for the idea. ~~Dee
Great advice, Dee! I know we feel overwhelmed this time of year, especially since our weather never cooperates; there’s much to do and so few days without high winds. But, it isn’t going anywhere and it will eventually get done. I hope you are feeling better. Love the photos of you and your little helper and your garden looks great already. I’m emailing you about something we discussed a couple of months ago.
Yes, please feel free to email me. I am feeling better. I just work as much as I can and let the rest go. Today was very windy indeed.~~Dee
You are so right Dee, slowing down is the key. I have been trying to slow down the chores for April and enjoy my “garden” more. I’ve tried to make it “low maintenance” and think I’m getting better at it. This year I am trying to be patient and wait to see what does come back before buying something to fill an empty space that may not be empty in a few weeks. I’m in zone 7a and have learned I need to be patient until nearly the end of April to move houseplants from the garage and house to the outside, if I don’t want to be moving them in again to avoid a late frost. I loved your podcast of March 23. It was as if you had read my 2022 gardening plans. Or maybe I have been listening to you and Carol so much I just channel you now! 😉 I am going to focus on many of the same annuals seeds you mentioned by fitting them in between shrubs and perennials…something I haven’t done in decades. That way I will have color most of the summer. Finally, congratulations to you and Carol on your win of the Indiana Communications Contest. I sincerely hope you win the National. With your wit, humor, knowledge and the attitude you have towards gardening, you are my very favorite podcast! Good luck! June
Thank you June! Your comment made our day. I sent a screenshot over to Carol. I love using annuals seeds to freshen up the garden. It truly makes a difference and is cheaper than only buying plants. I’m trying something new this year along the front of some of my flowers beds. I decided to put a lot of Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ there. I wonder how it will all look?~~Dee
I just loved your recent blog. I lost my Mother on Easter over 7 years ago. So now I live in her house. Quite honestly gardening in Brown County Indiana is so different than my lush gardens in KY. But it is good, it has allowed me to slow down and enjoy natures gifts. My Mother loved these gardens, the woods, and wildlife all-around. Now I love them as well. Gardens give us so much more than fruits, veggies and flowers. They give us love, memories and soul. I love seeing your grand baby in the blog…we must pass on this garden love to the next generation. Thanks for your heartfelt blogs. PS I never miss an episode of The Gardenangelists. You guys are great and so real.
Hi Becky, Gardens are so important to our very souls I think. I’m grateful that you listen and read my ramblings. It makes my day. I hope I pass everything I know on to Little Bit. I know she loves being outside. That much is true. ~~Dee