So, first there are the first fans of spring.  Actually, other than my garlic and spring bulbs, one of the very first signs of spring in my yard.  Then, there come the scapes followed by peak bloom season.  And, then the lovely late bloomers signal time to start preparing for another cycle.  I think of the Native Americans and their focus on the changing seasons.

I did have bloomers this weekend.  So, I will show those first, followed by the tale of BS in my garden.

Tiger Kitten only produced two buds.  This was a one fan root last summer. It’s making progress.  Can’t wait for next year!

 

 

Stella, of course, was here with me all weekend, in both yellow and gold.

 

 

 

 

And, Orange Flurry lit up my smaller zeriscape garden in the rocks.

 

 

So, here is my Ned Roberts Southwest spider garden that I put in this spring.  The first two pictures are before.  It is of note on the second photo that the earth no longer comes up to the top of the bricks.  PS – I would have done a higher raised bed, but the yuccas won.

 

 

 

 

Here is the after picture.  Probably no different to most people.  The difference is that the earth is now back up to the top of the brick.  Because daylilies are funny about planting depth, this meant raising the grade of the garden by first loosening up each daylily, putting the growing medium underneath, and then surrounding each cultivator with the medium.  It reminds me of the tale of raising Galveston Island several feet after the 1900 Great Storm.  They did it one structure at a time, too. It took all afternoon yesterday.

 

 

Today, I filled the gaps with the remaining medium because the daylilies were all in mounds after being raised.  Sounds easy enough, except I was mixing up a concoction of steer manure, compost, peat moss, water crystals, soil acidifier, and time release fertilizer.  Oh, and given that I tromp around pretty hard with my camera, I also added some little stepping stones so the soil could stay fluffy.   I think my motivation is not only the anticipation of the blooms (a type of savoring), but also the number of little gardens that I see on my dog walks that have gone untended.  I think how cool the initial intention was . . . . but it is long gone.   This Colorado Plateau is a different ecosystem than the South.

I read yesterday that with plenty of water, amendments, and the right amount of fertilizer you can get 2-3 x as many blooms.  Might as well give it a shot.  For tomorrow, we will talk about grass weeds vs daylily sprouts.  Maybe someone out there can help me with that issue!!!