Spring is a chancy thing where I live. March came in like a lion and went out like a tiger. In the middle of April the major happening was a seldom seen local miracle. We had more than a week of warm, unbroken, sunny weather. Of course it was followed by dark clammy days and freezing nights. That did not erase the memory of the early spring flowers, snowdrops, winter aconite, scilla siberica (Siberian squill) and crocus. The winter aconite was trying to open its flowers while still under a blanket of snow. Eventually the snow let up and the flowers opened. This was soon followed by frost that caused the flowers to contract and hide from the miserable change.
A deceptive blush of spring can cause the unwary gardener to falsely assume that outdoor gardening has returned. 'Tis better to look at the calendar and wait until a new page or even two has been exposed before venturing outdoors with trowel and pruning shears although this can be the time to cut down the dead stalks of perennials that had been left unpruned in order to capture as much early snow as possible to act as an insulator. Under a thick layer of snow, 136 inches, 345 cm so far this season, thankfully not all at once, most hardy perennials are comfortable. When low temperatures hit while the snow layer is meager, not only those plants close to the ground but many shrubs can bite the dust.
Pruning the tough stalks of Miscanthus sinensus grasses takes an electric hedge cutter and a long extension cord. Before I hit on this labor saving device I used lopping shears. An exhausting task with eight groups of these resilient grasses.
Both winter aconite and scilla self seed with a vengeance. Rock garden daffodils, crocus and tulips are soon surrounded with scilla and aconite. I try to collect the seeds of both proliferating plants before they fully develop to hold back rampant spread. Unfortunately I miss many and the insidious seeds and the increase continues. I had already exhausted other places to scatter the seeds. I even find new plants growing in the nearby lawn, they seem to survive mowing.
The aconite, after flowering, seems to be
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