It’s been a cool spring, and as summer commences, that trend has largely continued. So the garden is a good 2-3 weeks behind where it was at this time last year. But on the upside, rainfall has been steady and regular, so everything is looking very lush, without any backbreaking effort on my part. Just how we like it!
On 1 June 2022, a Fairfax, Virginia jury found for plaintiff Johnny Depp in a defamation suit brought against his former wife Amber Heard, awarding the actor $15 million in compensatory and punitive damages. Heard, who had countersued for defamation, was vindicated on one count, and received $2 million in compensation, though no punitive damages were awarded.
I’ve put a lot of time, energy and money into establishing a diverse shade garden under the canopy of the paper birch and Norway maple in the southwest corner of the yard. Flanked by a large, now ancient, stand of mixed lilacs in the south and the new eight-foot fence in the west, further screening it from the sun, the area cried out for development, and after three years, my efforts are beginning to pay off. The problem was the rootiness of the area, the lack of proper amendment to the dense clay soil, and the insatiable appetite for moisture from the shallow-rooted birch, which creates a dry shade environment in its drain field.
The 2022 Kentucky Derby came to a startling and unexpected “Wow!” finish, as long shot Rich Strike came from behind in the last furlong to cross the finish line ahead of favorites Epicenter and Zandon. At odds of 80-1, Rich Strike’s victory was the second-greatest upset in Derby history, and paid off handsomely for the few clairvoyants who saw it coming. And it almost didn’t happen; as of 8:45 the previous morning, Rich Strike wasn’t even slated to run, but a last-minute scratch by Ethereal Road opened up a spot with two minutes to spare before the 9 AM deadline for registration.
The cold which had been such a feature of our early spring, and threatened to damage emerging buds and leaves, has continued in a less severe form into mid-spring, and has now become my friend. Normally by Beltane most of the narcissus have bloomed and faded, with just sporadic dots of color across the garden, but the extended period of below-normal temps this year has acted like a florist’s cold case, preserving these beauties well into May.
It’s been an odd spring, weatherwise. We had an unseasonably warm start in late February, which popped the early bloomers like crocus and snowdrop, but then slowed to below normal temps, followed by drastic cold, with three consecutive nights dipping into the teens as March ended. That was nerve-wracking: so much was at a critical stage of development, and I could hardly cover the entire garden! I did put some weighted pots over the new corydalis “Beth Evans”, which was budded much earlier than I dreamed, and took my chances with the rest.
