Spring

I know--it doesn't look like Spring, but that's what's been on my mind while spinning. Most people who enjoy the warm months better than the cold turn their thoughts to welcoming Spring this time of year. The sky seems higher, so those gray days of winter don't keep pressing lower and lower and at last the blanket of the winter is raised and we can peek under and see a glimpse of the new season to come. Gardeners seem to yearn for Spring even more than others.

But in addition to that, I've been listening to this as I spin, and it makes me just itch to get outside and play in the dirt. I want to move plants that didn't do so great last year to a spot they might enjoy more. I want to try all kinds of new plants. I want to tear up one whole flower bed and start over from scratch. I want, I want, I want. I want Spring and it's bigger cousin, Summer. I agree with Hardy "The most beautiful words in the English language are 'a summer afternoon'."

But, like all gardeners, I am patient. Gardeners must be good at that; waiting for the tiny little hopes they plant to develop into the stuff of their dreams--if they're lucky. So I'll delay the digging and moving and planting for just a little longer. But meanwhile, I can wander outside and check the little tips of new green coming up, and prune the clematis.

If you've grown clematis, you know their particular traits. They can tax even a gardener's patience, teasing for at least a season or two before they decide to really get blooming. They like cool feet and warm heads, and they want really good roots before they get too showy. For that reason, you have to grit your teeth, pretend you don't care, and keep your clematis trimmed back to 18" or so the whole first year. You'll be glad later, but that first year's hard.

Clematis demand that you know them intimately and prune them according to their preferences. Usually these preferences fall into one of three categories, but some references divide them into as many as twelve. Being a lazy gardener, three sounds good to me.

My clematis are delighted with the spot I chose for them. They sit against a fence that faces east northeast, with a pool house that provides shade for their little bottoms but lets their faces receive the sun. Usually I put some potted plants at their feet (they're in a raised bed) just to make sure the roots stay cool. I have three in a row at the far end, then a couple more spaced further along the fence.

Early flowering clematis (Group 1 or A) bloom on the previous season's growth, so they only require a light pruning and neatening of the tips. Group 2 or B drives me nuts--it flowers on both old and new wood, so what to do? I just give it a light pruning and cut out the dead growth back to a strong pair of buds. The last group (1 or C) requires ruthlessness. Be bold here and whack the vines back to about 8"-12". Group C plants flower on new growth and your brave pruning will encourage new shoots that will reward you with loads of flowers. The nursery where you get your clematis should be able to tell you what type you are purchasing. If they can't, go to a nursery that knows their stuff. A good basic gardening book also helps, and just trusting your own observation.

So tomorrow, I'm headed out to prune. I'll take the dog, and the cats will all follow along, and even if it's a gray day I'll feel sunny inside while I cut and groom. And soon I'll have this:

Delayed Procrastination

This is a sad picture. This was once my favorite tree in a large yard full of many trees. This tree was feathery and green and nearly 40 feet tall. In the summer, I'd make a special trip outside just to pet the soft whispery branches and breathe in the smell of all the years it had seen. When the snow was falling it would grant me a postcard view of the season right outside my front window, and at Christmas it offered me its piney branches and cones and brought its beauty inside to grace our celebrations.

The first ice storm on January 12 brought down half of the limbs, and the storms on the 13th and 14th finished it off. We sat in the dark house and listened to it die, along with others almost as beautiful.

This is one view of the back from the corner of the pool looking towards our gazebo. See the trees in the background struggling to stand upright? See all the ice? See the tree that took a swim?

All this is my way of explaining myself, and my lack of posts. Winter is not my season and this one has bested me. I have a sense of inertia, can't get much done and have finally pretty much just decided to go with it. So . . . I've been knitting, and spinning and enjoying the comforts of a warm furnace. Living without power and water for a week has given me a grateful appreciation for electricity and modern conveniences.

Each Christmas I re-read one of my favorite seasonal stories. With all the company and to-do going on this year I didn't get that done, and I missed it. So while I've been knitting and spinning (pictures to come) I've listened to this. Several times. Read by the man himself. It is simply wonderful. I hadn't explored the world of audio books, but boy am I a convert now.

And while I listen to beautiful showy words, I dream of summer and beautiful showy flowers.


Like this:
And this:
And I promise to quit procrastinating.