Spring must be the season of poets as well as gardeners. From Wordsworth’s “host of golden daffodils” to Japanese haiku masters there is something in the air that sends the muses to pen and paper. Perhaps it is the contrast between the wildly changing weather and the delicate, tender yet hardy new beginnings that make this time of year so inspiring.

As a gardener this year spring seems to have stirred only feelings of frustration, I’m afraid. Every time I ventured out with the intentions of spending a few hours in the yard I would be force in early with cold hands, running nose and very little accomplished. The sun played hide and seek with me while the wind seemed to cut right through my clothes even as I crouched over the beds.

Hopefully with May now here we will finally warm up a bit. About mid April I took all my dahlias, cannas, callas, geraniums and other warm weather plants out of winter storage and arrayed them on the patio. I had planned to divide, repot and prepare them for planting. Every night I had to cover them with either blankets of plastic or sometimes both! Another result of the cool weather has been the lack of snow melt from the mountains. The rivers and hence my spring fed pond have been very water deprived. The fish are wondering what has happened to their lap pool and the frogs’ eggs have had to be pushed out to deeper waters. This spring weather is not a unique experience but we have been lulled by the last few years into expecting a short winter followed by a wet but mild spring. This year reminds me of my childhood when frost during the first part of May was a common occurrence.

We never planted tender plants until after the 24th of May. In fact the Victoria Day weekend could be cold and windy in Squamish. It was always a treat when the sun shone for the parade and the crowning of the May Queen and the maypole dance was not befuddled when the wind did its own dance with the multi-colored ribbons. Lilacs were the flowers of choice for the parade floats and decorating the royal dais. Although the month of April this year was colder than normal, the sunshine, rainfall, and snow were all about average.

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I also enjoyed our April speaker’s presentation on rhododendrons. Ingrid Hoff was informative and very professional. Her knowledge of this plant species was extensive but her presentation had something for everyone and the selection of photos was excellent. Our keynote speaker, Carolyn Herriot, should be equally interesting. She will be at the Howe Sound Inn, May 12 and members are encouraged to bring a guest to this event. Members cost $12 and non-member $15. An extensive write-up is available on our website. Carolyn has a wide interest in sustainable gardening and heritage seeds but her knowledge and expertise goes far beyond that field to embrace all aspects of gardening. Now back to my own endeavors. We haven’t been hibernating with the coolish weather. We have pulled down a 25 foot screen/windbreak that has separated our two patio areas for the past thirty five years. It was added to help one area to escape some of the southern summer winds that whipped across the hayfields when we first built our home. Now homes, fences, hedges and other obstructions filter the breezes that travel up the Squamish River. Now was the time to replace the wooden and plastic structure. However, over the years this had supported honeysuckle, clematis, kiwi, winter jasmine and both climbing and rambler roses. All of these plants have had to be trimmed, and tied back. We are building an open lattice fence with a top railing to train the climbers on. It will allow glimpses of the other patio but will allow the intimacy of each to remain. This is just an interim project as we wait for the weather to warm up so we can tackle some outdoor painting projects. A neighbour has also removed a wood shed from along the fence line so now we have both more sunshine and a blank section of boundary that needs some landscaping.

Just a gardening observation…how many of you have noticed that there are many plants that won’t grow in the flower beds but will gladly multiply in the lawn. Bugle weed, creeping speedwell, candelabra primrose, English daisy are just a few that seem to prefer the grassy sod to the flower beds. I wonder if that is a statement about the condition of my beds! Several of my beds were planted up years ago when garden fabric was all the rage for keeping weeds at bay. You would lay down the fabric over prepared soil, cut holes where you planted perennials and shrubs and covered it up with a deep layer of bark mulch. It actually worked for seven to ten years but there were flaws. First it was hard to fertilize plants or remove dead ones or even divide overgrown clumps. As the bark mulch turned to soil, weeds crept in and these were almost impossible to pull out because the fabric held the roots in place. The more obnoxious the weed the harder it was to get out of the tangle of fabric, mulch and landscape plant. The more expensive the fabric, the longer the problem has lasted. Today I still have wide areas that are governed by the presence of this experiment in weed control. Many gardening solutions are great in the short term but do not with stand the tests of time. I am continually reminded that gardening is a journey, not a destination. One must enjoy, and appreciate, the trip, the changing scenery and the fellow passengers on the way. Regardless of the weather the spring flowers march on as they do year after year. The primroses in all their many forms and colours have been especially impressive this year. The flowering cherries, plums and magnolias have lasted longer than usual and been only slightly touched by the frost. Now the rhodos and their kin are joining the parade. It is indeed the season when even the most staid of us can secretly find poetry in the garden.

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