May

May is when new blooms seem to appear almost daily. The smell of the lilacs is almost overpowering. Now's the time to mix the potting soil and finally plant the annuals! Official frost-free day is May 15th, but we always push the season and hope.

Precipitation: Approximately 2 inches
Average precipitation: 3.5 inches

"Earth laughs in flowers." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

True Solomon's seal 5/3/13

True Solomon's seal 5/3/13

Dogwood 5/11/13

Dogwood 5/5/13

Dogwood 5/3/13

Dogwood 5/3/13

Speedwell 5/11/13

Rhododendron 5/11/13

Lilac 5/11/13

Lilac 5/11/13

Buttercup (wildflower) 5/11/13

Azalea 5/11/13

Azalea 5/12/13

Azalea 5/19/13

Hosta 5/12/13

Hosta 5/12/13

Columbine 5/19/13

Columbine  5/19/13

False Solomon's seal 5/19/13

Iris 5/25/13

April

Spring is finally here. It's time to rake back some of that heavy mulch. Everything seems to be blooming in April, but there's much more to come. Daffodils and tulips are the big features.

Precipitation: Approximately 1.5 inches
Average precipitation: 4.1 inches

"Gardening requires lots of water, most of it in the form of perspiration." -Lou Erickson

Scilla 4/6/13

Daffodil 4/6/13

Daffodil 4/14/13

 

Jonquil 4/11/13

Aster 4/14/13

Bleeding heart 4/20/13

Tulip 4/25/13

Tulip 4/27/13

Tulip 4/25/13

Vinca minor 4/27/13

Honesty (money plant) (biennial wildflower) 4/27/13

March

Garden plants really start popping in March. Emerging snowdrops and crocuses seem like small miracles, sometimes pushing through the snow. It's a good time to prune obviously-dead branches from shrubs and small trees, being careful not to damage the live growth. 

Precipitation: Approximately 3 inches
Average precipitation: 4.6 inches

"Your first job is to prepare the soil. The best tool for this is your neighbor’s motorized garden tiller. If your neighbor does not own a garden tiller, suggest that he buy one." -Dave Barry

Snowdrop, always the first to emerge 3/14/13

More snowdrop 3/14/13

Snowdrop and vinca 3/14/13

Daffodil ready to bloom 3/14/13

February

As the days gradually get longer, dreams of gardening return. We can remember the smell of the soil, a freshly mowed lawn, and lilacs.  February is the shortest month, and the end of winter is in sight. It's time to plant herb seeds and start early tomatoes indoors. 

Precipitation: Approximately 4 inches
Average precipitation: 3.5 inches

"No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden." -Thomas Jefferson

Cedar and dogwood 2/9/13

Spruce 2/9/13

The birdbath garden 2/8/13

Blueberry bush 2/9/13

Two feet of snow 2/9/13

January

January always begins on a cold winter night! Gardening in Rhode Island is on hold, unless you count shoveling snow, picking up fallen branches, removing heavy snow from shrubs, feeding the birds, and dreaming of warmer days ahead. 

I'm beginning my 2013 garden documentation with these archival images from recent Januaries. They show a few scenes from our backyard garden in East Providence. In the monthly posts that follow, images will be identified by date taken. Should you notice a misidentified plant, please let me know!

It's amazing how many plants one can collect in 29 years of gardening in one place! I have included most, but not all of the flowering and berry-producing plants. Among those omitted this year are clematis, crocus, forsythia, lily-of-the-valley, peony, poppy, weigela, white lilac and white spirea because they did not make a good showing. Maybe next year I'll get them all! 

Precipitation: Approximately 1.5 inches 
Average precipitation: 3.9 inches

"Gardening is the purest of human pleasures." -Francis Bacon

The vegetable garden fence and naked rose arbor

The birdbath heaped with snow

Pachysandra

Shadows from a low sun

Snow art