22 Comments

Lovely pics! A very robust late winter garden 😊 And your basil! Growing this time of year is beyond surprising! I’m in a watch and wait mode for a lot of my perennials—to see what survived our extreme January lows.

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Thank you! I know, it must be miraculous basil. 😊

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The only surprise here was the basil: How do you account for that? Our particularly mild winter this year?

I love the sight of daffodils even though I realize they’re just pretty little statues and don’t feed native fauna. Witch hazel is my hero, though!

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Right, that basil?! I think it must have been the mild winter. I feel the same about daffodils, they just help lift the spirits in the last days of winter.

I definitely would like to grow witch hazel. Any advice?

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They don't need much here in their native habitat, besides some reliable part-shade. I lost one during a drought when a tree that had provided dappled shade was severely cut back in my neighbor's yard. But you might not have that problem since you're in a cooler latitude. Make sure you get the native variety and not the cultivars or Europeans.

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I have a cactus covered in prickly pear, and soon Phoenix will be in our orange season, which smells amazing.

What do you do with the horehound?

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I love to hear what grows where you are, it's like a completely different world plant-wise! I bet orange season is fantastic.

I dry the horehound for medicinal tea. It's really good for bronchial symptoms, loosening mucus and soothing coughs. The problem is that it's super bitter, so I have to doctor it up with lots of honey.

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Hi! I searched Substack for other garden writers and found you. I actually love that you wrote Michigan in your signature line. Great idea and I'll have to steal that idea. It's important to know where a gardener is located. I love that you are in the States. You sure do love all the subtle changes in the garden as much as me. Off to subscribe.

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I'm off to read and subscribe to your Substack. 🙌

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I'm so glad you found me! Thank you for subscribing. I agree, I love to know where gardeners are located so I can sift through the advice, so steal away!😊 It's great to meet you!

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Anemone have been in bloom since early January. Hyacinths have been up for 3 weeks.

Hosta, lycoris and daylilies are all coming up. Astilbe just peeking out in the last couple days.

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This is the time of year that I'm most envious of gardeners in the south. Our hosta are still resting, and it will be some weeks before we see blooms on our daffodils and tulips.

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To be completely honest, it’s one of the reasons I pulled up roots and moved southward. I get a 9 month growing season and only in December is there nothing in bloom and nothing to do in the garden but spot mulch and clear out the skeletons of last year. I was harvesting tomatoes in early November. Also I don’t really have to start anything indoors.

The heat can be oppressive though and I am still finding out what I can plant where. There is no deep shade around my house. Everywhere gets 3-4 hours of direct sun at a minimum so stuff like pulmonaria and dicentra struggle and hosta are inevitably burned by midsummer. Still, I haven’t given up on the shade even though it’s not flourishing yet.

I love seeing your garden and talking to Phillip about the projects.

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Thanks so much for the encouragement, Mark. I can see the benefits of a southern growing season, much more glorious than our 4-5 months (in a good year).

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Also about to plant the Xmas amaryllis.

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Will that bloom the first season?

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Yes. They are also hardy here with a generous application of mulch.

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Here in north central Texas I’ve got blooms on my nectarine & peach trees. Dandelions all over. I’ll have to pull my trees into the shed on Saturday as we’ve got a frost coming.

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Those trees must be gorgeous! Good luck with the frost.

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I bet there is sorrel somewhere….

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I'm sure you're right. I'll have to take a closer look.

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I so love that lemon zesty, beautiful to look at Leaf in a salad!!!!

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