This past weekend was perfect weather for getting out and doing some spring cleaning in the garden.
Sorry I haven't blogged for a few days, but I've been busy. Saturday and Sunday were spent cutting down ornamental grasses, gathering fallen tree limbs (cutting and bundling, some for kindling and the rest for trash pick-up today), raking old mulch and leaves from flower beds bursting with spring bulbs and early perennials, tending the compost pile, and cutting back the butterfly bushes. After spending the winter inside looking out the window, dreaming of summer's colorful blooms, it sure felt good to get back out and into the dirt!
I mentioned my ornamental grasses above, and in case you were thinking of adding some to your garden, I can't recommend them enough! These hardy plants are perfect for people without a green thumb. They thrive in just about any area - full sun, partial or shade. And they come in all different sizes and colors!
My personal faves are Zebra or Porcupine grass (mine get about 7 ft. tall, not counting the plumes), Maiden grass (plumes to 12 ft.), Fountain grass (3 ft.), Silver grass (3 ft.) and Japanese Blood grass (just over a foot). I'm hoping to get a new variety called Northern Lights grass this year. It is yellow-orange in color and gets about 2 feet tall. I'll be checking my local garden centers for this one!
Grasses look great in the summer, some change color in the fall, and they're even pretty in the winter. Some people cut back their grasses in the fall, but I like to leave them up until spring. They add a beach feel to my yard even when covered with snow.
And when I do finally cut them down, this year using hedge-clippers (thanks for the idea Dad), I save the taller ones. They get bundled up with twine and stored in the shed over the summer. When the time comes to decorate for fall, I get them out and use them like corn stalks for decorating the front of my house. They look great and it's another way to recycle yard refuse. In November, they get chopped up and put on the compost pile, only to be recycled back into the flower beds the next spring!
More on those butterfly bushes later.
A quick update: I decided to wait to plant my perennial geraniums until May, storing them in the vegetable crisper in my fridge. As you can see, the weather is just too predictable right now.