A Baby in Bloom-Spring Awakens at Camp MP

While sitting at my favorite salon having my haircut this week I thought to myself that I am not the only one due for pampering and a fresh snip.

Just as my hair has been stuffed beneath hats and scarves for the past 4 months, the Gardens of Camp Money Pit have been buried beneath piles of snow and ice and sand--it's time for a new season.

Under a milk sky the temperature today reached close to 90 degrees! A welcome piece of joy. It is still April after all, but with a winter of ice and snow and shovels and sand and boots finally gone, I threw open the doors and windows, flicked on the ceiling fans and listened to the birds chirp through the skylights...time to wake up the garden!

This was the first opportunity to do a real assessment of Winter 2009's treatment of the gardens. I walked, clippers in hand, through each bed and patch and was amazed as I always am in April how resilient and magical a garden can be. True there is plenty of winter burn, and I am afraid the mountain laurels and boxwood topiary may not kick back in, but everyone else-AOK!

First up the Hydrangeas...I have too many to count,but that won't stop me for planting more this year. Each has sprung to life and is ready to strut their stuff. I am especially proud of my climbing hydrangeas. There is an adage that the is so true when planting climbing hydrangea--The first year they sleep, next year they creep, the third year they leap!

I leave my hydrangeas more or less as is in the fall- I love the dried blooms against the snow. Come spring I cut back to the new growth. On the Endless Summer hydrangeas, which grow repeatedly on old wood, I still cut away to shape and give strength. My hydrangeas are the anchor to my gardens and my summer.

Next the Lavender patches. How is it possible that after months and months of being "buried alive" that lavender can still have a fragrance? I gave each patch a good haircut to allow the new growth to thrive but I found so much had started without me. Many spots are well on their way-no waiting for me to get around to tend them. I cannot wait to plant more! I just learned of a new variety called White Ice that I will start in containers from seeds from Renee's Gardens.

If you are visiting Cape Cod this year be sure to stop at Cape Cod Lavender Farm for a bit of Provence New England style.

Another treat is the discovery that the roses that line the driveway and the back courtyards made it through their first New England winter and are growing strong.

The great joy of the gardens of Camp MP this spring though is a real surprise. Last year I discovered that next to an old and graceful cherry tree there was a "sprout".

A "baby" tree that had rooted off of its Mom but clearly was struggling. Carefully it was dug free and planted out by the garage at the end of the drive. lots of TLC but not many high hopes for it. Well look at her now! I never expected to find her alive let alone in bloom-

made my week and my spring! and look at her proud Mum who clearly has gained strength and stands as a tribute all good Moms who send their sprouts off to thrive in the cold world.

Let's Make a Deal-The Annual Leap of Faith

Each Columbus Day I enter serious negotiations...not for a new business deal but with the winter residents of my gardens. The gardens at Camp MP have admirers but they are not the type who ooh and aaah and walk on..no these have fuzzy tails and think my gardens are a country club, dinner included! Each year I make a deal with the Nutkin Family. The Nutkins are an ever populating bunch and they have taught one another all the best places to shop, my gardens being the Bergdorf's of bulbs. The squirrels and I have long discussions and I make every effort to hold up my end of the bargain..they,however.... So here's the deal, if they leave my newly planted bulbs alone they can feast on whatever they can shake out of the bird feeders all winter...Squirrels are not to be trusted!

Consequently I was not going to plant this year...but I couldn't resist! Bulb planting is the special spot of a gardener's soul. They represent the hope and optimism that every gardener holds. While the leaves are still turning and the sky is a glorious blue I dig and place and tuck my bulbs in with a kiss for a long goodnight. I admit I often forget where I placed them, which is actually part of the joy...to walk by a section of the garden and see a group poking their heads up is the reason I plant. Winters in New England can be long and cruel so the first sprout of a leaf tip through the cold and icy ground is a gift that I would not trade for anything.

This year I am continuing my blue and white theme..parrot tulips, peony tulips, grape hyacinth, narcissus, muscari, scilla...I love them in patches and not neat rows. Check out Van Engelen and John Scheepers Old House Gardens for glorious collections. Just a hint..bulbs can be addicting! Pick a corner that is visible come spring and plan around color...what do you want to see first/ Group them in clusters of color...don't plant one tulip here and one there...show them off together. Dig an appropriate sized trench and place them. You can add bone meal or bulb booster but be warned...The Nutkins love that, like whipped cream for them! Go dig a hole!

Waking Up the Garden

All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar. Helen Hayes

It has been a topsy turvy spring in the gardens of Camp Moneypit. New England in April is usually grey and wet and cool while May is when you blink and there are blossoms, buds and blooms.

This year April vacation was like a week in June and now this weekend before Memorial Day is cool and damp. It is no wonder then that the trees that burst out of their winter sleep to turn their faces to the warm sun now look a bit like they want to roll over and go back to sleep.

For the gardens of Camp Moneypit this is a BIG spring. I spent the better part of last May and June making daily trips to the nursery fillling every inch of Silver Girl the miata with pots and pots to transform the endless empty grounds. After a spring of digging, planting and planting, digging some more, planting some more and summer days watering watering watering watering, I watched out the window as all my new "kids" got battered by snow and ice and wind and cold all through the winter. Believe me if I could have pulled them inside with me and fed them chicken soup I would have. For weeks this March and April I didn't dare look at the baby flowering pears, cherries, dogwoods and crabtrees. How could they make it through, they are so young and the winter was mean ?? I could see that the rhodies and azaleas and mountain laurels did not look too pleased, and the boxwoods that were green all winter suddenly were turning jaundice...so of course I began to worry about the "big guys". My hopes were set on my hydrangeas that rarely let me down. Their teeny buds started to sprout out so I knew they just needed some clipping and a kiss and off they'll bloom. It was the paths of dried lavender showing green and the french tulips and hyacinth popping up proudly that gave me the courage to go up close and personal with the taller residents on the block.

A sight I dreamed of seeing all those early August mornings with the hose came true. Sweet blush and rosy pink buds and blossoms were welcoming me and smiling a big Thanks for taking care of us. They made it!!!!!!

Welcome to the Gardens guys...you did good! Move over cause it's time to head to the nursery!