Common Ground – May 2021

©Deborah Carew

“For May is full of flowers”

Robert Southwell

Like a lot of people I rushed out and cut daffodils before the late April snowfall. My rational mind knew that all the spring bulbs are unaffected by snow and freezing temperatures. But there I was anyway cutting masses of daffodils to bring into the house.

I cut hyacinths, too, out of the same irrational fear. I am particularly grateful for the hyacinths (Blue by You blend of blue and white from Veseys). This is my first year of having a good show of hyacinths. I have to confess I wasn’t that keen on them after having been given some sickly looking pink ones years ago. But these are great in spite of their awful name.

I discovered that putting cut hyacinths in water was a bit problematic since they are so short and wide. Looking around for a suitable container, I finally settled on an old ironstone gravy boat. Problem solved. It looks like it was meant to hold flowers.

This long cool spring has been good for all of the bulbs. The early daffodils have lasted well and the late ones are just starting to bud.

Not to take anything away from daffodils old and new, I have to admit that the showiest bulb in the spring garden this year is one of the smallest. I was very happy to see the tiny yellow and white tarda tulips appear in late April. These are very bright and grow on short stems close to the ground. They will multiply if they’re happy and the squirrels don’t discover them. I planted them last fall and spent the winter wondering if the squirrels found them and if I would see them bloom in the spring. What a nice surprise when they finally appeared.

In the vegetable garden, the garlic is growing every day. Spinach and snow peas are both up and not bothered by the cold nights at this time of year.

I got a bit of grief for being so hard on poor kale last month. Kale apparently has a fan club out there. Who knew? I didn’t mind a little bit of kale last spring and early summer. It was tender enough to cook quickly with garlic and hot peppers in olive oil. But as the summer heated up it got too tough and unfortunately started to taste like something that was good for me. By the fall it was only fit for the soup pot.

I’m looking forward to a less controversial vegetable when the first asparagus appears.

I recently discovered that the wild form of asparagus is native to marshy places in Europe. Cultivated asparagus has been bred for thicker stems. It has been considered a delicacy since ancient times. Its botanical name, Asparagus officinalis , indicates that it was at one time considered a plant with medicinal value. Officinalis means “of the dispensary.”

A lot of nonsense has been written about how much work is needed to grow asparagus. I try to keep mine weed free and give it some compost in the fall. Otherwise it looks after itself. And it has seeded itself well away from the garden where it does quite well all on its own.

I grew up on asparagus that was cooked in boiling water but I never cook it that way now. I think it keeps more of its taste and probably food value if it’s grilled or sauteed in a little bit of olive oil. So once it’s a little warmer I will be checking the asparagus patch regularly for those first spears.

Another rite of spring that I look forward to is picking morels. Morels are mysterious and don’t appear every year. There were only a few last year and who knows what they will do this spring.

Recently arrived lily bulbs and dahlias have been potted up and are waiting for some warm days to get growing.

I’m trying sweet peas once again which might be the triumph of hope over experience. We will see what happens.

By Jill Williams

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