Although we have had a wet year (remember, I'm in the high desert) the moisture meter said my garlic rows were on the dry side and so now they've had a drink with the hose. Most of the plants are 4-5 inches high now. They got a jump start on spring because we have had a mild winter. Most years at this time they would just be coming up. Does this mean I will have a good crop since they will have more time to grow before the plants start to die back in July? I sure hope so.
My hubby was off with a buddy doing guy things and the weather was good so I've had a productive day outside. Finally! The grapes are pruned, garlic is all watered and so are the remaining few asparagus we planted 20 or so years ago. They showed more signs of life after the big tree was cut back to a shaggy looking stump. It was taking a lot of water! The tree guy said a tree that size drinks 200 gallons a day! Yikes! I checked all of the rhubarb locations, all showing signs of life. A couple are looking downright vigorous! Stray (missed) garlic from last year and probably before is popping up and so I dug those up and will give some to my friend who loves garlic in any shape or form. I also dug out a few more thistles. And I potted up those bare root plants that have been sitting in their little tubes waiting for a home. They have a temporary one at least. I dumped almost 4 10th of an inch of water out of the rain gauge, so that makes almost 6 tenths since I hung it up a week ago.
One of the peony plants has new shoots about 4 inches high! I looked around in the yard and found new growth on a few more of them. Some get more sun than others so the peony blooming season will be longer than what just one plant would give me. The old fashioned poppies I transplanted a few weeks ago are awake and growing. While they don't exactly look like they think nothing happened, they are alive, not wilted, and if I am lucky they might bloom this year. Lots of daffodils are in bloom and a whole lot more will bloom soon. Most of mine came from a bin of bulbs that were priced at 5 cents each. That was at least 25 years ago. I spent quite a bit of time selecting bulbs that still felt firm. They were planted in groups of 5, all in one flower bed. I have moved a lot of the extra bulbs that developed and some have naturalized.
Tulips have also moved themselves around and multiplied Not only have small groups become larger groups but the bees or wind has crossed different colors and some have popped up in the grass and weeds we mow and jokingly call a lawn. Another plant that has naturalized all over the yard is allium, the purple kind that make a flower of golf ball to tennis ball size. I need to dig a lot of the bulbs out and send them on a trip to the garbage dump. Last year I collected the flowers before they made seeds but I suspect I have decades worth of seeds and tiny bulbs in the ground. I even noticed a healthy streak of them growing in the pasture! I can't say I wasn't warned that they were invasive, I just didn't realize HOW invasive! Yikes! I now realize it was a mistake to bring home any of them!
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