What I did in the garden: March 28, 2019

A few years back I also cut back the smokebusk 'Nordine', Notice the great color of the new growth.

My day is broken up into tiny bits, errands, a bit of work, tidying up, taxes... But in-between, the sun was shining, and the temperature was warm-- for Wisconsin-- and I set an alarm. I had a scant 30 minutes to putz in the garden.

Now 30 minutes does not seem like a lot. You need to remember, I spent just an hour putzing in my garden in the entire gardening season of "2018, The Year Without Summer." Getting to a window to even peer out at my garden was a major struggle with the broken femur. Now as the ice has gone I feel more sure of my footing. The limp might always be with me.

BUT...I was able to grab a rake and rake out the garden bed next to my deck and it was glorious! The deck whose railing was just re-stained in glowing white.

This is my caution, or admonishment to all, an very evident to this gardener, be careful as you rake out those beds. In the course of the gardening season, we forget the glories we have tucked in here of there. With the wacky weather many of us have had, a warning, plant heaving makes it easier to wrassle out a plant without realizing you are removing a gem from your garden crown.

I also took the time to cut back my runaway smokebush. I love smokebushes, but they are actually smoketrees and can reach 30 feet tall. Every couple years, I cut them either to the ground or to about 3 feet in height. Yes, you will sacrifice the majority of the "smoke" which forms on year old growth, but you will have renewed color in the leaves and a better form overall. With the late emergence from dormancy seen in the smokebush in my area, I do not worry about sap bleeding like I would on other shrubs at this time when the sap is rising in our native hard maples.

The smokebush in its glory, smokin'