Spring is greening up

 

Blooms are starting later in our garden this year as compared to many other years.  Small purple iris (Iris reticulate), purple crocuses (Crocus), and lavender creeping phlox (Phlox stolonifera) are the only plants that have bloomed so far. They are in our warmest bed that is on the south side of the house and four inches lower than the sidewalk giving it a bit of protection from the cold and wind. I haven’t planted new iris or crocuses for many years and they are dying out.  I’ll buy new bulbs to plant in late summer. Jonquils are full of buds and the soil is still moist so we haven’t turned on the water yet.

Lots of plants are greening up. Our two woody fern bushes (Chamaebatiaria millefolium) are leafing out.  I really enjoy this shrub.  It is very easy to grow, is drought resistant once established, and adapts to a variety of soil conditions.  The leaves are indeed ferny looking and showy white flowers bloom in late July and early August. It grows to about seven feet high. According to the High County Gardens website, it is native to much of the western United States.

Creeping thyme (Thymus ‘pink chintz’) and creeping Veronica (Veronica oltensis) are greening up in warm beds and between flagstones.  These cold hardy groundcovers are usually rated zone 3 or 4 and can stand our cold spring temperatures. This thyme is an ornamental and not used in cooking.  The culinary thyme most used in cooking is thymus vulgaris and is an annual. The Veronica has lavender flowers in late spring and the thyme has pink blooms in summer.

Both are low groundcovers growing only about two inches high.

Lots of tulips (Tulipa) and columbine (Aquilegia species) are popping up. Columbine is a wonderful perennial.  It does gently reseed and I let it grow wherever it wants.

While most sources say they do well in sun and shade, I find they prefer sunny parts of our garden in well-drained soil. While I love the blue/purple and white Colorado columbine, our state flower, I have a wide variety of colors as new plants have created their own color mixtures of blue, yellow, burgundy, white, and red. I find if there’s not enough airflow around columbine leaves they get infested with aphids.  They are long-blooming if regularly dead-headed.

For examples of these plants, take a look at AlamosaFlowers.net. If you’re interested in flower gardening in Alamosa, but are concerned about what to plant, take a look at the Hardy Garden tab on the website. It lists various plants that do well here and will give you continuous color from April until August (and perhaps longer depending on the weather).

This is an excellent time of the year to work on the soil.  I regularly try to loosen soil in between plants and apply soil conditioner and compost.  I also cut up dried foliage from last season and mix it into the soil. The goal is to create loamy soil that holds water, is easy to dig, and allows air to reach plant roots. It is a continual process! I usually don’t fertilize this early in the season but you can, especially if applying dry, granular fertilizer that releases nutrients over a long period of time.

“The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” Harriet Ann Jacobs