April Fool

I love tearing off that calendar page and seeing that April is upon us. This spring has been unbelievably smooth as it slowly sashays it’s way back into our world. We had some tipsy turvy ups and downs with the temperatures but nothing too tricky. We had some wind events as we do as the weather is going through changes. There were spring tornados in the state that did a lot of damage, it makes me shiver when I see those hard hit places. We were spared this year so far. I can’t even imagine what the garden center would look like if we got in the path of one of those beasts of a tornado. There is really nothing we can do to prepare for a tornado outbreak so I try not to worry myself about something that can’t be helped.

This has been the first spring opener that we haven’t all been wondering about which plants survived another brutal winter. This past winter was pretty normal and didn’t bless us with ice or prolonged periods below 32 degrees so all in all we are slipping into a spring that so far has been a great bloom one. The Dogwoods are blooming, the Redbuds put on a fantastic show, and Forsythia and Spirea have stolen the show. Maples are leafed out and have that brand fluffy, new look about them that made us fall in love with them. Speaking of Spirea, Ben found some varieties of Spirea last year that were new to me. One in particular I have fallen in love with is the aptly named Candy Corn. This Spirea was the first thing to show big color in my yard with bright gold and brick red foliage even earlier than the Redbuds. We knew we loved that plant as it lost its leaves going into winter but when she emerged from winter with her new dress on so bright and bold we knew we had a winner. We will be adding more this year, such a joy to see that golden life from our kitchen window. I am so relieved that it turned out to be a winner because I planted that one all over town last year when I was going around landscaping peoples yards. I hoped for the best but I never dreamed they would be so Candy Cornish. We have them prominently displayed at the nursery so as many people as possible can become familiar with this season opener.

Out of all the bulbs that we planted at home while trying to learn more about the world of bulbs the white Anemones have been my favorite. When they started blooming they looked like they would be frail and short lived. Then they started pushing up more and more blooms and we soon had two areas just loaded with blooms. Mimi brought in some of the blooms for vases in the house and mixing them with blooms from some Euphorbias that were blooming at the same time, they made a beautiful combination that has lasted for an incredibly long vase life. Anemones will have places all over our yard in the years to come.

The Daffodils around the state have been wonderful this year, we finally got around to adding several varieties around our yard, always a little late to the dance. Mimi found some early, mid and late blooming varieties to extend the blooming season. We have Daffodils that are finished blooming and some that haven’t started yet. I’m seeing lots more bulbs popping up for us to learn about, it looks like Ranunculus is going to be our next show stopper, the buds were cracking last night while on our night walk around the yard. Our veggie garden is now not just a veggie garden any more because the beds are filled up with flowering plants that we planted last fall. Foxgloves, Lupine, nasturtiums, Sweet peas are covering our Tomato trellis’s, larkspur is budded, Delphiniums and poppies are all about to burst with blooms so we decide to ride this show out until they cry “uncle”. We added some beds so we have planted some early Tomatoes, lettuces, Bok Choy, Artichokes, and our Asparagus is sending us enough spears to have a fresh handful about once a week. We have planted crookneck Squash and Zucchini and Cucumbers. Normally this is early for that but, unless I am an April fool, I believe it’s time to roll.

We stuffed the planter boxes with cosmos, Gomphrena, night blooming Tobacco (white, fragrant blooms) Moon Flower is already wrapping it self up their trellises and we planted quite a few Calendula in the garden, they seem happy and have so far tripled in size since we parked them in some very nice organic soil. Our Bachelor Buttons have been exciting to watch. As soon as their roots settled into that soil they got enormous, we can’t wait to see those tall, cobalt blue blooms mixing it all up. I grew all of these from seed and have them for sale at the nursery so everyone can try these early spring bloomers out. My seeding that I spent my time with this winter has gone great so far. I have a great herb collection, my vegetables selection is very good and people are loving the flowers that I grew from seed. Some of the flowers that I grew are old school flowers that you

just rarely find at garden centers. It’s been fun to watch customers seeing plants that their

grandparents grew like Four O’cloks Cotton (yep, I said Cotton), Safflower, Calendula (which has a lot healing properties apparently) old varieties of Cosmos and Amaranth. I will soon have some dwarf varieties of sunflowers that are white or lemon yellow available, I even grew some Caster bean trees.

The most exciting thing we have happening in the nursery department of our business is our new addition of aquatic plants that we now have ready. Andrew Ewing has been perfecting his craft and knowledge of aquatic and aquarium plants for the last ten years and has come to our business with his plants and extensive knowledge. Back in our greenhouse he has propagated close to 30 varieties of plants that will survive and thrive while living in or close to water. The plants are being set up in water gardens that can be moved to your back patio or some shady spot in prepared containers or the plants can be used in your pond or otherwise boggy areas. Andrew has some container gardens set up with bamboo fountains that offer the sound of running water and plants that are so beautiful and easy to care for. Andrew has a YouTube channel called Plant Life Project

that will familiarize you with what we are up to. From what we understand, we now have the largest inventory of aquatic plants in the state. We are excited to finally be carrying this wonderful collection of plants for an easy and fun project. I hope you will have an opportunity to come in and meet Andrew while he shares this fun and relaxing hobby with the Mississippi gardeners. It’s time to get out to the garden centers that our area is blessed with to get you inspiration on. Selection is great around town and going to get better as we are all scrambling to get it all in and ready in what looks like an early spring, or I am an April Fool.