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Following a gloomy week with too much rain, and too little time spent outdoors, this weekend’s weather has more than made up for it in sunshine and warmer temps. Such a spectacular turn of the weather is many a New Englander’s dream so, naturally, everyone’s talking about it. Flip-flops and summer dresses quickly replaced coats and rain boots and our little town is buzzing with excitement. The garden has been slowly coming back to life, and it’s been such a joy to see old friends return, tender and shy at first, but getting bolder and stronger by the minute: the pretty peonies and the proud phlox, the scented salvias and the lovely lupines. There were a few surprises, too, things I’d forgotten I’d planted that now I can’t wait to see bloom, for the very first time in the garden. A good friend of mine who happens to be an excellent gardener, keeps a log of every plant, bulb and seed that goes into her garden and I’d like to (one day) copy her method, if only to keep track of what gets eaten. Hungry squirrels have decimated some of my tulip borders to such an extent that out of dozens of bulbs planted last fall, only one bulb remained intact and strong enough to bloom, below.
Anyway, here are this week’s finds, with an emphasis on pretty things I’m planning to add to the garden:
1. Connecticut Gardens, by Caryn Davis
2. Bamboo folding chairs (set of 4)
4. Peony Sarah Bernhardt live plant
8. Painting garden furniture with Tess Newall
9. Bohemians in Greece, by Miguel Flores Vianna
I’m so sorry about your tulips! A friend told me to mulch mine with a layer of pea gravel on top. Apparently, squirrels don’t like the way it feels on their paws? I haven’t lost a tulip since!
Good morning, Eva – I have a fix for your tulip situation! We’ve done it for years and it really works – we couldn’t even have tulip bulbs in a container without seeing them ravaged within hours. So, you cut a piece of chicken wire to fit your space – plant your bulbs and then place the chicken wire on top of them. We use lawn staples that you can buy off Amazon for a few dollars to anchor the chicken wire. Then you put more soil on top and that’s that. The bulbs will come up through the chicken wire and the squirrels CANNOT get them.
It is frustrating to put some much time, money, effort, etc. only to see it destroyed.
Also, just got the Connecticut Gardens book and it is FABULOUS.