It's Time to Plant!

The flowers appear on the earth, the time of the

singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle

dove is heard in the land.

Song of Solomon 2:12

The daffodil blossoms have long since died away, the remains of hyacinth is turning a sickly yellow, and the grass is a vivid green only a week or so after my application of Scotts Turf Builder.  We've had two days this week of temperatures in the 90's (yes, you read that right!), and my mind is pounding out the chorus:

It's Time to Plant!!

The fat old robins are waddling all over my grass, the temperatures have stabilized in the 70's and it is time to get down to business!  I have worked all winter on a notebook of garden designs and possible plants.  I bought a new perennial last week [Doronicum Little Leo] with pretty yellow, daisy-like flowers.  I began spray-painting the old pots a beautiful dark green to give a fresh look to my container gardens.  My David Austin English rose is beginning to fill out, and I have made a list of newcomers and old friends that I want to purchase:

• Hakonochloa macra All Gold Japanese grass
• Bottlebrush Buckeye
• Brazzleberry Raspberry Shortcake (compact raspberry to grow in large pots)
• Yucca rostrata Sapphire Skies  
• Melampodium
• Sweet Autumn clematis
• Miss Kim lilac
• Bandana Cherry lantana
• White serena angelonia 

I am waiting to hear the dates for the plant sale at the local tech center; the plant sale at the botanical garden is not until the first weekend of May.  Thanks to generous friends at Christmastime and birthday, I have gift cards to Lowe's and to a local nursery (as well as a Groupon for additional savings there).  All I need is time - to purchase and to plant.

I cannot even imagine the joy that Adam and Eve must have experienced as they tended the magnificent gardens, created by God's own hand, that surrounded their home.  How grateful I am to God that He chose to make this world a riot of beauty, texture and color.  If you are a garden lover like me - it's time to get busy!  Happy Planting!