Hooray! I had some sunny hours in the gardens last weekend!
I pulled out invasive plants and redirected overzealous plants (I see you goldenrod). I snipped out thistle and found spots for my sweet pea flowers that I started under lights. I weeded around the early clumps of peony, coneflower, Phlox, and daylilies.
I need to tour my plantings and reconfirm what plant is wanted and what is a weed. I will pull the aggressive goldenrod out of the peony, Phlox, and beardtongue clumps. They form a flowering buffer between the lawn and a mix of goldenrod and asters. Not much in flower yet, but the peony has buds with ants adding their encouragement. Ants and peony have a symbiotic relationship. More about that in a few weeks.
I didn’t just wander. I transplanted my beet starts! I had a visitor for Mother’s Day who gave me an assist as well. Beets can be sown in April directly in the garden, but I wanted to get mine going inside. Plus it was cold and rainy when I had the time to go into the garden. So beet seedlings became the strategy.
Multiple seeds germinated in each growing cell under the lights, but only one can grow on if I want a decent-sized edible beet. Transfer beets, you say? But I thought beet roots don’t like to be disturbed! My strategy was to take the whole seedling cell, even with four little beets started, and plant that cell. Then I snipped off three of the seedlings and left one to grow strong. Then watered.
The rains last week brought on swampy lawn areas, but my raised vegetable beds drained within a couple days. I will need to water them this week before our heavy rains forecast for Wednesday and Thursday when this column publishes.
After three years, we are finally getting a decent harvest of asparagus from our asparagus bed. Perennial asparagus crowns need a few years to get established, but now we can enjoy about one pound of asparagus every couple days from our 12- foot row. The asparagus stems appear in the first week of May and will continue producing for about five weeks. If you enjoy this vegetable, plant a row of your own. It is a lazy gardener win!
It is not too late to plant more flowering sweet peas directly in the garden. I may have to. I wasn’t as delicate with the seedlings as I should have been. I am not sure they will grow. I also have chard seeds to sow among my other greens in the vegetable garden.
Our average frost date is typically May 20 in central-south Berkshire County and later in the surrounding hill towns. However, the forecast looks good. The most likely time for a May frost is around the full moon, and that happened last Monday, May 12.
Looking at the weather, I will plant some of my summer bulbs in the garden this weekend if I have time. In colder springs, I would pot some up indoors to reduce the chance of frost setback, but I don’t see frost coming until late September now. I will start planting Dahlia, Acidanthera (peacock orchid), Gladiolus, and Crocosmia this weekend.
To extend the bloom time of gladiolus, I could procrastinate and plant just a few bulbs now and again every two weeks until late June. They flower quickly. The other bulbs should go in the ground now if I want to enjoy flowers in July.
How are your allergies this spring? Many people I know have been suffering from the pollen blues—or should I say “yellows” as I have found my white car turns yellow in a matter of hours. If medications aren’t helping, those face masks we all wore regularly will reduce the allergens. Don’t blame the landscape. Pollen is a source of protein for bees, and nectar provides carbohydrates. We need those insects to keep our forests, farms, vegetable gardens, and landscapes growing.
Plant clover, encourage wild strawberries, and nurture common thyme that appear in the lawn to benefit more insects. The more diverse your insect habitat, the fewer insect pests that will survive to attack your desired fruits and vegetables. The Lazy Berkshire Gardener hates to use pesticides.
When you mow, mow with a well-tuned machine that can handle the height of the grass. Keep your mower blades sharp. Use higher grade gasoline in small mower engines and add a fuel stabilizer to the gasoline to protect against ethanol damage. Are you participating in no-mow May? Remember when you do return to mowing, you will need to make more frequent passes on lawn areas and reduce the blade height gradually. If you try to cut them back by more than half their height, you will damage tender grass by overexposure to bright sun and also have excessive clippings.
I have sections of saturated lawn that cannot be mowed and continue to grow anyway. When you can, mow your lawn on the highest setting and you will continue to enjoy flowering weeds in your “lawn” that attract and feed beneficial insects. Keep your lawn height at three inches or more and those “weeds” won’t outcompete the grass.
Insect pests to watch for now would be aphids under spinach leaves and signs of flea beetles on broadleaf plants like rhubarb or young hosta. For aphids, wipe off the aphids or spray with simple, organic-friendly insecticidal soap. Aphids attack new leaf growth so concentrate your aphid hunt on the new leaves. Flea beetles usually make their small, irregular holes quickly and move on. There isn’t much need to “manage” flea beetles. By the time you notice, they have left.
Apple scab can result in leaf shedding as early as late May during rainy spring weather. If you haven’t treated susceptible plants with fungicide, this is the time. Fungicide coats the plant and adds a layer of protection. It does not kill the fungus but prevents its spread.
You will need to choose a mild day when temperatures are forecast to stay above 40 degrees for 24 hours and it is not too windy. I know I keep missing a good window. Check the product directions, but fungicide treatment should be timed carefully and not at the same time as other spray routines, especially with oils. Mixing the treatments can kill leaves and damage the tree.
In honor of this week’s Flower Moon, I encourage everyone to visit their favorite plant purveyor and create some simple containers of bright flowers to enjoy all summer. To oversimplify, get five plants that can grow in similar light and water conditions: Two that trail (or spill) out of a container; two that will stay a medium size but clump to fill the center; and one tall, “thrilling” flower or spike of color. Put together, they will form a simple but colorful triangle to decorate your porch, stoop, or balcony.
Plentiful and common in containers for a reason, annual geranium (Pelargonium) comes in white, purple, and red shades from pale, peachy pink to darkest blood-red. Annual geraniums can tolerate bright sun and dry soils, so make easy additions to summer containers for long-lasting color when the gardener isn’t around to water them every day. Regular dead-heading will keep the blooms coming.
I call myself the Lazy Berkshire Gardener because I don’t want to work too hard in my gardens. I want to enjoy them. I find it easier to observe my landscape and let the compost happen, the water pool up, or daisies to self-sow. I look for ways to do the minimum task for the biggest impact. For example, mulching is better than spraying and much better than weeding all season. I look for beautiful, low-maintenance plants that thrive in or at least tolerate my garden conditions. Plus, I am willing to live with the consequences if I miss something.
