Have you noticed? It’s spring! Lawns are green, perennials are popping out, and of course the weeds seem to spring up quickest of all.
All of which makes May such a busy month for gardeners. We shake the dirt off any tools we forgot to clean, work the creaks out of our knees and tackle the month with energy and expectation. We plan, we shop, we get our hands dirty (don’t forget Helen has our wonderful gloves for sale) and dig into our gardens, be they huge vegetable gardens or a single pot on the deck. We are all gardeners this month!
Beth has been busy, too, as you can tell:
I’ve been busy lately potting hostas that have outgrown their spaces, slicing daylily fans off some big clumps, digging monarda (bee balm) and pulmonaria (lungwort) that have gone too far astray, and potting up new lilium bulbs.
I hope you are doing the same with your extra plants for the upcoming online plant sale. No bidding, just select what you want to buy. Prices will be listed. Find directions in this newsletter.
As Beth mentions, if you haven’t potted plants for the plant sale, do it now! Take pictures and post them on our Facebook page where the “how-to buy or sell” is listed. Be sure to alert family and friends who might like to buy something lovely for their gardens.
Another bit of good news—once again, The Village of Winthrop Harbor has asked us to plant flowers (for a nice donation to our Club). We need volunteers to come out and help us on May 22nd. It will only take a couple hours at most and you’ll have a chance to get together (finally!) with some garden friends.
Beth’s Corner has some potluck salad recipes. While we won’t be having our usual potluck this year, perhaps you can use them for a family gathering this summer.
You will also find some ideas for ‘going up’ with your container gardening.
In the meantime, does anyone have any great ideas for keeping squirrels and chipmunks out of my newly potted pansies?
Let’s use this month to break out of the old routine and really use our gardening abilities for ourselves and to benefit our community. One of the joys of gardening is sharing both our experience and our talents.
Enjoy your spring. It never seems to last long enough!
