Last week, when I was at my mom's, I couldn't help but notice all the dried-up leaves and withering weeds. It inspired me to write something about how our gardens are transitioning into summer and how I'm more drawn to Summer than Spring.
Suppose you are like me and aren't very vigilant at removing or preventing an overgrowth of winter weeds like chickweed, henbit, and the dreaded sticky cleavers. In that case, you will be well aware of just how exuberant they are, particularly in the early spring months. My beds have been choked with the stuff, but at this time of the year, they've completed their life cycle and wither away.
Their only remaining job is to release all those thousands of seeds- seeds that will remain dormant all summer only to be triggered into germination during the cool days of autumn and early winter. This cycle repeats yearly unless we intervene. Thick layers of mulch, pre-emergents, or lots of physical labor is what's required to break the cycle. I always say this is the year I'll get all of them before they go to seed... I guess you can guess how that goes.
So, I've resigned myself to just live with it. However, when they all fade away and literally "melt" into the soil, I enjoy "cleansing my garden." It's satisfying to feel like I'm liberating the summer perennials from all the chaotic excesses of Spring.
It's not only weeds. So much of my garden is full of early spring daffodils, crocus, bluebells, hyacinths, and countless other "ephemerals" that have retreated into dormancy. What remains is all that dried-up plant material.
All this debris doesn't have to be removed; the insects love it, but I prefer that "cleaned-out" orderly look. It allows me to see what's lived through the winter and notice any unusual seedlings I need to pot up. It forces me to get down on my knees, on the plant level, and observe all those little things that are going on down there.
Don't get me wrong; my flower beds are never weed-free. And increasingly, they are overgrown because I only get to work in them one day per week- at least at my mom's house.
I'm also the kind of plant person who prefers the later-blooming species- those that bloom after the epic pulse of March and April. For one, I find spring too overwhelming. There's just too much going on, and I can't focus on just one plant. I much prefer the slower pace of summer and fall.
Plants do slow down this time of year. For one, they begin to react to the effects of our increasing temperatures and inevitable summer droughts. It's almost as if plants can sense that conditions will soon get brutal!
Another positive aspect of later-blooming species is that they have less floral competition. For example, by the time crinums or daylilies bloom, the number of blooming species has reduced to a more manageable level. I'm not so saturated with color that I feel "flower fatigue,"- which I often feel by the end of April.
Perhaps it's because I have a touch of autism, but I much prefer the more "predictable" nature of summer... fewer holidays, fewer obligations, it just feels safer for me. And I can look forward to my favorite species: crinums, Lycoris, rain lilies, and all the wonderful salvias!
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