Weeks before its actual arrival, the idea of spring insinuates its way into the Northwest psyche. In mid- to late winter, the idea of dressing up the garden with flower color is intoxicating and the enthusiastic plant lover wants nothing more than new plants to fill that need. As if on cue, home and garden shows proliferate like dandelions in an unmown lawn.
At the mention of the word sale, we run to the nearest nursery and load up a garden cart with any plants that strike our fancy. At one time in our garden life, most of us have bought the first flat of brightly colored petunias of the season. We might even pick up that incredible hot red climbing rose that we’ve always admired. We are drawn to an unusual early flowering cactus and a striped, terra cotta New Zealand flax. Finally, we squeeze a deep purple lilac bush into the cart, simply because it overwhelmed our senses with its heady scent.
If, like me, you gave in to this seasonal urge, the results of your spree may not be as charming as the picture you had in your mind’s eye at the time. It’s not until we bring our treasures home that we question our sanity. What were we thinking? Most of us have not yet begun to prepare a garden bed or border for the arrival of new plants. Some of us may already have a few plants lined up in a holding area waiting for the right time to begin planting.
Only now do you remember that you already have a purple lilac bush and have promised for the last five years to cut it to the ground before it overtakes the entire west side of the house. There is only one space left in the yard for a tree and you decided last year that it was the perfect space for a weeping, red leaf Japanese maple. The only area left in the garden to plant the cactus and the flax has wet soil and is in the shade.
