2022 is the 8th year of gardening in this spot, and I hope it will also be the best.
The earliest plants visible, of course, are the ones that stayed green all winter, such as the periwinkle, lavender, iris, daylilies, and bunch onions. One surprise was the hanging basket of pansies. I just tossed it aside thinking I'd dispose of it eventually, but through all the freezing and snows, some of them stayed green.
If it's going to be that determined to live, I'm going to let it. I'll sort out the live material and repot it.
Other early plants that have popped up out of the snow are rhubarb, hyacinths, crocus, daffodils, scilla, tulips, and lupine.
Lupine
'Cassata' daffodils starting to bloom
Tulips in foreground, left
'Jean D'Arc' crocus
'Ruby Giant' crocus
'Violet Beauty' scilla (aka Glory of the Snow) (Chionodoxa luciliae)
A new plant for me this year is a miniature iris: 'Sheila Ann' (Iris reticulata). I almost missed it, as it's at the furthest edge of the garden and came up and bloomed much earlier than I thought it would. Not to mention its delicate pale blue color. The blossoms are short-lived. Only a few days.
The rhubarb suffered heavy losses last spring when much of the garden flooded. (As did several of the perennial flowers that prefer drier soils.) It appears I've lost several of the individual plants, which I'm afraid will include the two I had hopes of being red-stalked varieties.
I cut way back on the numbers of seeds I germinated this year, but still have no room left for more.
They're looking very good at this point.
Left to right: African marigolds, money plant, black-eyed susan vine (Thunbergia), French marigolds,
globe amaranth (Gomphrena), and 'German Johnson' tomatoes
Basils left to right: 'Blue spice', 'Purple Ruffles', and 'Persian'
As for the vegetables, I've sown seeds of onion, peas, wasabi radishes and salad greens. The kales and radishes have germinated, and I'm waiting on the onions and peas.
Although it won't be time for cucumbers yet for seveal weeks, I made this year's cucumber trellis out of redbuds that sprouted in the wildflower garden, where they can hide for a whole season, and some trimmings from the forsythia bushes. It's attached at the bottom to a circle of fencing wire that will hopefully anchor it well.
Have a happy springtime whatever we get.
