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Spring Garden

© Howard Deutch

Here I am, in mid -April, relaxing after dinner, having spent part of the afternoon pruning the Grootendorst Roses. I almost won. While I have vanquished the outer regions of these physically inhospitable plants, some of the inner portions remain inviolate. I don't believe there are any thorny plants that are more dangerous to approach. But the flowers are worth it. I have thought that a hedge of them surrounding my garden would keep out the deer; also any marauding werewolves. I prune out the thin offshoots that, if left near the ends of the canes, weigh them down with an overabundance of leaves and bloom. I also prune back the major canes to an outside bud to open up the plants.

This has been an easy winter as far as the deer are concerned. I now wrap four young Ilex x meserveae in burlap for the winter to prevent the deer from grazing them to stubble. Ditto for some Euonymus fortunei. I solved the problem for some growing up a wall next to a back door by installing a dusk to dawn light there. It works for a radius of about a dozen feet, so far. Some years ago I transplanted volunteers of Euonymus alatus Compactus to the end of the vegetable garden, awaiting more growth before setting them in their final location. In winter the rabbits usually prune them down to about snow level. I am too lazy to wrap them as well and am sitting it out to see who wins. So far it is the Euonymus by a hair.

The rhododendrons sheltered against the house are starting to bloom. The flower buds on the Korean Lilac are about to open. The maple trees will soon release their millions of seeds. Soon the lawn will be populated with their progeny. They learn to grow low and avoid the lawnmower. Why is it that things one doesn't want grow do so well while the more desirable ones require so much help?

A disappointment is a large bed of Greigii Tulips. For some reason hundreds of them have not emerged. This was a magnificent mass of flowers the first two years. I purposely planted this variety as they are long lived and others had lasted for so many years in another location. The earliest ones are already in bloom in my spring garden, but with sparse distribution. Other beds of Darwins appear OK.

 I don't have a squirrel problem with tulip bulbs that I know of. The bird feeder keeps them over-occupied. Many studies have been conducted on the resourcefulness of squirrels and the impossibility of

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