The Month is March, the Year is 2025 – and Spring is in the air
Back garden, early spring 2025
No matter where you live, March is a month of expectant hope. Hope that is sometimes frustrated by one more freeze, one more snow or one more transgression of Mother Nature.
However, if a gardener does not have optimism, then by its very definition, that person is not a gardener. Hope is catching; it smothers the gremlins and even calms the pessimism of politics.
OK, what do I have to share this month?
It turns out that I need projects to keep me busy. So, let me get some of these things out of the way first, and then we can discuss garden-esque topics. I am involved in so many cool things that I can hardly stand myself. Apparently, Susan has joined me.
A podcast: Can you believe this old fellow, who, by the way, still does not understand social media at all, is sharing some thoughts on a Podcast?
Download it whereever you listen to podcasts, or stream from my website.
If you listen to these podcasts (audio only), you will hear me telling stories about Joe Pye weed, Bachelor’s Buttons, and Forget-me-nots, short stories on how plants got their common names. Interspersed with these will be episodes about some of my favorite plants and why they make my list of must-haves. It's not exactly True Crime podcast, but it's a lot less gruesome and a great deal more fun. I am not sure how I will sound coming out of your car speakers or earbuds, but since all episodes are less than 5 minutes long, I will soon be over. The podcast started a few weeks ago, and one will be added each week. Enjoy!
T-shirts. The only time I look at T-shirts is when competing in a tennis tournament or running a road race; they are the spoils of victory or defeat.
However, I wear one in the garden all the time. It seems somewhat haughty to expect people to wear me around the house and garden, but really, it is not me, but my hat – and who doesn’t love this hat? I was surprised that the color blue was not as popular as the color blue until Susan just shook her head, muttering, “It doesn’t show the dirt, you dummy.” They are quite comfortable and available on the website in different sizes.
Such a good model!
My Favorite Things:
If you follow me, you know that I have been recommending some of my favorite plants, gardens, books, streaming shows, and places to visit. I have been doing this every month for over two years, and amazingly, I have not run out of things to share. I get a good deal of feedback, and surprisingly, I receive as many comments about the book I recommended as I do about the plants and gardens. It is great fun for all, brief but enlightening, even for the author.
What is happening in the
Armi Garden
In a few words, it is erupting. Not yet exploding, but not far away either. I may be earlier than most of you, but be patient, your garden will be exploding too.
I have very old containers of two special non winter hardy plants. They are big and heavy and once put on the deck, they need not be moved. Just this week, I thought we had the last frost and hauled them back from a friend’s greenhouse - only to see late frosts return. I had to drag them in again, this time into the house.
Meyer Lemon Tree
Two large uninvited guests taking up residence by the patio door quickly outstay their welcome, to say nothing of doing anything for my back.
One of them is a Meyer Lemon, which, if I don’t get impatient and leave it to the elements, rewards us with a good deal of very tasty fruit by late summer.
The other is a Nepal Plum, little known in this country outside Florida, California and a few coastal areas in the South. I was taken with the glossy foliage and succumbed to its leafy charms, little realizing it was a thorny sucker, not at all fun to handle (or bring in and out of the house). On my deck, it flowers now and then but seldom bears fruit of any size, until this winter in the greenhouse. Even though the interior of the fruit was kind of scary looking, we decided to have a plum fest, or as much a fest as one plum allows. It was tasty, somewhat spicy and - well, we did not keel over dead.
We have already had memorable experiences and it is only March.
These two lovely plants are vacating the house this week.
Nepal Plum
Who knew that Global Warming Would Bring in ….
My armadillo trap
… armadillos! These prehistoric dinosaurs were the denizens of the deepest south and the southwest but surely not to the foothills of the Smokey Mountains in Athens, GA. Most of you don’t have such troubles, but don’t hold your breath too long; they are coming north quite quickly. The darn things are destructive in their search for grubs and are not easy to be rid of. I managed to trap one a while ago, but the latest family has proven more elusive. will keep you up to date with the A issue.
Oh well, another companion for the squirrels, chipmunks, and deer.
The Adage has come true – again.
You have often heard me say that people who like to garden have an advantage over so many others because We Always Have Something to Look Forward To….
Sometimes weeds, dead plants, and all those critters really test our faith, but spring once again brings home the reason that our garden is wonderful mental medicine. In fact, without sounding like a crazy person, the garden is my church, and the plants are my congregation (does sound a little over the top, sorry!)
However, the cherries are flowering everywhere, the leaves of the Japanese maples color up by the day, the Virginia bluebells are showing off their bluebells and oh my, I have discovered a tulip that is perennial (very uncommon, even for others). Add that to the emerging shrubs, already flowering hellebores, and of course, the cardinals, blue jays, robins, bluebirds, and wrens. Yes, I’d say that the church is in fine form.
As always, I invite you to read along with my jottings and join me on my walkabouts online or in person. Please enjoy the books, the app, my favorites and all the other quirks of hanging out with me.
