The Awe and Dread Syndrome
It happens every spring. We get those first warm days - and we have all these things that need to go into the ground ASAP. But we also have spring clean-up - raking, cleaning, cutting back and pruning that should be accomplished before we do that.
That first venture into the early spring garden - the survey of what all needs to be done - is enough to send some gardeners scurrying back to the house to leap into bed and pull the covers over their heads. It could affect us as mere tension - or, depending on now much needs doing, even anxiety. And of course it exacerbates those guilt feelings that we can't avoid when we look around at all those plants that we have somehow acquired that now need homes but can't get them until we have completed all those other tasks and then at least found a supply of mulch to cover the beds in as soon as we manage the planting (Ah yes - that guilt just keeps on growing!)
The good thing about guilt is that eventually it prods us hard enough to emerge from under those covers to take tools in hand. In order to accomplish these things most efficiently we start calling on our common sense. Old annuals need pulling up. Perennials that were left in the winter garden for interest or because they provided seeds for birds much be cut back. Ornamental grasses need to be cut down, and plants like lavender may need to be sheared to rid them of old flower stems and winter-killed parts. The roses and the summer and fall flowering shrubs need pruning. At least we can look at all of our spring flowering shrubs and breathe one big sigh of relief. We don't need to deal with those until they have finished blooming.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Carol Wallace's Virtual Gardening topic, please visit the Discussions page.