Today is second straight Sunday in April where the high is in the 30s and we have winter precipitation falling from the sky.  If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Mother Nature was intentionally trying to prevent me from having some beautiful spring garden pictures to share with you.   I can’t say that we haven’t had any nice weather lately — it’s just been all over the place.  I went from having to cover plants on Tuesday night (a 22° low), to a Thursday so warm Beau needed a dip in the pond, to again having to cover plants for a 20° low Friday night.  Craziness!  

I don’t know what season we’ll have show up on a day-to-day basis, but I do know I had better not get all excited and start planting much beyond trees and shrubs yet.   Have you seen the “11 Seasons of Midwestern States” floating around the internet lately?

We have to be getting close to “Mud Season” here in Kansas.  While I wait on “Actual Spring,” I’ve been busy with plenty of other gardening activities.  Yesterday I attended a local Healthy Yard and Garden Expo with a focus on eco-friendly practices for lawn and gardens.  Exhibitors and speakers shared wisdom on a number of topics, including composting, native plants, pollinator gardens, rain gardens, and more.  It was good information, but to level with you, I was really there for one reason: FREE PLANTS.  The extension office advertised free tree seedlings for the first 100 people and two free native plants for the first 500.  Arriving only 5 minutes after the doors opened, we were too late for the seedlings, but we did get our two native plants:  Obedient Plant and Rose Verbena.  I also picked up a Woodland Spiderwort and Purple Coneflower at a booth selling native plants.

A presentation at the expo about the benefits of native plants got me thinking about incorporating more natives in my garden, and it didn’t take long to figure out where exactly I would put them.  Brandon and my dad spent yesterday afternoon cutting down some branches and trees on the property, and then used the tractor blade to clear the area behind our dry creekbed of all of the downed timber. It looks better for sure; the problem is, it also looks like it needs a garden there now.  Which got me thinking…what if I turned that area into a native woodland garden?  I could take out all of the native thorny underbrush, replace it with Bluebells, Woodland Spiderwort, Wild Geranium, Woodland Phlox, etc., and have a unique section of garden that is beautiful, low(er) maintenance, and supports native birds and insects.  Hmmm…I think I could be on to something here!

The unpredictable weather has forced me to focus my efforts on the bones of the garden, like finishing the crushed limestone paths that will wind through the space.  I had 5 tons of gravel delivered last week, and yesterday we began prepping the paths by raking up sticks, pulling weeds, and laying weed block fabric.  Once it is all done, I’ll be able to share an aerial view of the garden before the trees leaf out.

Indoors, I’ve been dutifully watering and fertilizing my seedlings, which I’m wondering if I should have started earlier for them to grow big enough for planting outside in early May.  The impatiens are a decent size, and the seedlings I was certain I had killed when I thinned and replanted them are thriving.  The coleus have started looking like actual coleus with their unique cultivar colors, and the begonias are starting to add additional leaves (though they are still absolutely tiny).

I’ve also managed to keep my orchids alive thus far; though the minis have stopped blooming, the regular moth orchids are still going strong.  I’m following the instructions I got from the orchid workshop — watering and fertilizing weekly, and misting with water in-between.  Once the large spotted orchid finishes flowering, I will repot it and the two minis.

This coming week forecast shows highs in the 70s a few days, so I’m hoping to get out and finish up the garden paths in the evenings.  I’ll continue to watch the forecasted lows, though, because we likely have a few more weeks before we’re out of the frost danger zone and I may have to cover a few plants. But we are getting closer, and when “Actual Spring” finally arrives, you can bet I will have dirt under my fingernails every single day.   🙂

How’s your spring gardening prep coming?

(P.S. Does someone you know in the Kansas City area have a beautiful garden, large or small?  I would love to take pictures to share on the blog!  Please let me know.).