Another week has come and gone, and we inch closer to the start of another season.

With “warmer” temperatures upon us I’ve started to move some of the hardier plants from the basement to the outdoor growing room. It’s been a relief to move seed sowing supplies from our mud room and basement to the sunroom, where I can make a grand old mess and not worry about having to clean up after every tray of seeds sown. (The proximity to supplies is convenient but after three + months the mess gets old…)

So, what did Week 15 bring? Well, if March is the month of seed starting then April is definitely the season of potting up. Perennials and annuals alike are busting out of their small growing containers, bare root shrubs desperately need soil to bury into, lily bulbs are sprouting in bags, and there is no stopping the dahlias now, either. Yes, they can be stored in the dark and covered with wood chips, but they know, instinctually, when it’s time to wake up. (I quite often find dahlia tubers at the bottom of storage containers sprouting upwards!)

Once the onerous task of income tax preparation was complete I moved back to the sunroom, where I’ve been spending the majority of time lately. Lavendar, tomatoes, Eucalyptus, shrubs and more needed bigger homes, and let me tell you (if you don’t already know) - potting up is time consuming. That said, I find it an enjoyable, monotonous task that allows my mind to wander (or not). Quite often I go about my daily tasks in silence, preferring birdsong to a good playlist. Now that spring has arrived the background noise has changed; the tune is upbeat, hopeful. I’m not adept at identifying birds by sound but I do recognize when the songs change to reflect the shift in season. I’m especially looking forward to hearing the spring peepers down at the wetlands; that’s when I know that spring has truly arrived!

Other than potting up, I started several trays of ‘White Lite’ sunflowers, which I do at this time every year for the first monthly summer subscription of the season (third or fourth week of June). I usually pair these with feverfew or yarrow, ranunculus, whatever greenery is ready and last year included some of the first roses out of the garden. Sunflowers are actually much hardier than they’re given credit for, and under cover can be planted out two to three weeks before the last frost. I usually plant ours (at this point, two to three weeks “old’) by the third or fourth week of April and cover them at night with plastic to keep the frost off.

Also started last week:

Mauve Bachelor’s Button (surprisingly low germination rate for new seed: I have a whopping four plants out of 80! That’s atrocious. Hopefully the other colours will be better.)
One more round of Bupleurum. As always, covered, kept moist, on a cool floor until germination, which can take over two weeks.
White dill, bouquet dill, Dara (Ammi)
Dusty miller. I use this more for dried purposes than fresh, due to height, but some seasons it’s been tall enough to use in bouquets.

That’s Week 15. I’m already a couple of days into Week 16. Dried floral bouquets for Easter (Soo Market via Bread Hag) are on the to-do list, newsletter/emails to subscribers, fertilizing ranunculus, seeds and, you guessed it, more potting up are on the agenda. Have a good week, folks,

~ Liisa