Hmmm. What do you think? Have we finally turned the corner? Will we live "sprinter" behind and finally get to spring? Man, I sure hope so. Everything is so far behind. Our lilacs are nearly always in bloom over Mother's Day weekend. Since that's in less than a week and I'm just starting to see flower buds, I can't see how that will happen. But at least they're finally greening up! I've lived in Minnesota a long time and can't ever remember an April as consistently cold as this one. The average temperature for the month (highs and lows together) was 41. The average is 47.5 (according to the National Weather Service). And if we hadn't had those lovely warm days at the end, it would have been even worse! The daily highs were over 9 degrees below average. And it was wet. Boy, was it wet - and so much snow! I'm used to cold weather in April. But not cold day after day - cold, then warm, then cold again is the more usual pattern. It just stayed cold. So the plants stayed put - in the ground. I didn't even uncover the plants I'd mulched until the last week of April, and that may be a first. You can see from this graphic (courtesy NOAA) just how consistently cold we were. It wasn't your imagination! I know it's kind of hard to read - sorry - but the blue lines that rise slowly over time are the average highs and lows. The red shows the actual highs and the green the actual lows. I think you can make out how odd the month was.
We just finished the spring clean up last Saturday (May 4). Joe hauled 20 trash bags to the compost place, and then we hauled over a trailer of bigger, kind of brushy stuff. Lots more space in the gardens now! My crocuses are done and my white scilla and hyacinth are blooming, but that's all there's been. It's amazing how many perennials aren't even peeking out of the ground yet. I'm trying really hard not to worry. After all, the tulips are only about 6" high, and it's pretty normal for stuff to not be showing at that point. I have to quit looking at the calendar and pay attention to what the plants are telling me! I may have lost a bleeding heart. One is up and leafing out and the other is a no-show, except maybe for one tiny bit. That's concerning, as they've always come up together before. So that's listening to the plants, isn't it?
The Friends School Plant sale is in 2 days. Man, is that grandstand going to be cold! I don't mind - it's easier doing the work when it's cooler and you're not dripping with sweat, and the plants will certainly hold up better if it's cool. But I wonder just when I'll be able to plant. The ground is still so cold that many of the plants won't be too happy to be plunked into it. Yes, I can wait a while, but the window is short as we'll be gone for a while at the end of the month and I don't want to leave them in their little packs if I don't have to.
Oh, well. The joys of gardening in a tough climate! I'm hoping this year will be cooler than last. Many of you know I don't like the heat. I certainly want it warm, but we don't need another year with 30 days over 90. And I think we're all hoping the recent increase in rainfall keeps up.
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