So I’m nose-deep in seedlings of all size, needs, and variety. Many things I’ve had to re-sow at least twice, because germination was low or my cat ate them. (He specifically likes the hot peppers.) Some of the seedlings I almost lost due to overwatering–apparently seedlings turning pale yellow is a sign of overwatering! Some of the seedlings needed to be babied more than you’d think–my green peas and sweet peas are not nearly as cold-hardy as everyone says (at least not while germinating.) And, you will always need more heat mats and lights than you think.

Now that the local stores are selling seed starts, I’ve also learned a few more things. One, unless they are some kind of rare or otherwise interesting variety, don’t bother growing pansies and violas. You can get 6-packs of them in stores cheaper and quicker than you can grow them. Despite being small flowers, they seem to take forever to grow. Also, poppies, though very pretty once mature, are thin, frail-looking seedlings that take forever to grow and are a pain to pot on. (Cabbage and turnip seeds, on the other hand germinate almost instantly and grow an inch a day–probably why they make good microgreens.) Finally, box stores can and will be actively selling full-grown tomato plants long before our last frost date has passed. (I hate to imagine how many inexperienced gardeners lost their entire veggie garden after our unseasonably warm days followed by a hard freeze last week.)

Finally, you will almost always be able to get better deals in person at the store than online. For example, if I’d know Walmart sold dahlia tubers ($5/bag, two tubers per bag), I’d have saved a good bit of money and also gotten my dahlia cuttings started sooner. (A tuber is pretty much a tuber, no matter where you get it–especially plants like dahlias that you can take cuttings from.) As I was house-bound due to the surgery, though, there was only so much I could do. 😦

And finally finally, I’ve had to admit that, due to the surgery and the longer-than-expected healing process, I won’t be able to do everything I had planned in the garden this year. I had hoped to avoid container gardening almost entirely, but as most of my garden space has old established plants that need to be dug up or moved–or is still lawn and not yet garden space at all– into containers they’ll go. In the long run, this may help with the big plants. especially, as it gives me time to figure out the best spots for them. But it means, in the short run, much more hand-watering that I had wanted to do, as running irrigation will be a pain.

Last Friday, I had my 6-week check-up with my surgeon. He said, and I quote, “Do as much as your pain allows”. Of course, the first day I overdid it, trying to walk everywhere without crutches, and even tried the stairs, and now am back to using crutches again. (Stairs: not a good idea.)

Today was my first day to actually get out into my backyard since last December. I waited until the weather was at least 50F and not raining, which didn’t happen until today. I still used the crutches, and had my fiancé carry a few things out for me, but still! I was in the backyard! It was progress.

I found that one of my 30-year old rhubarb plants (one of which I had completely removed last fall, and the other of which I severely pruned) had survived. I now have one extremely large rhubarb plant, despite having removed a good 3/4 of the root system last fall. (I have photos I’ll post at some point; 30-year-old rhubarb roots are huge, moldy, and disgusting. And they extend for what seems like miles.)

I also found that I had apparently mulched my garlic beds too much. (Or, perhaps, I should have removed the mulch sooner.) I had out about 6″ of mixed leaf and grass clippings on it last November, worried that the garlic would freeze over winter. Some of the garlic shoots had made its way through the mulch, but most of it hadn’t. Once I removed the mulch I found that almost all of them did sprout, though, which is a good sign. Hopefully being exposed to the sun will strengthen up the shoots and help the plants rebound. This is my first year growing garlic, so I’m not exactly sure how it will go.

I also found that my rock garden was completely inundated with day lilies. I remembered it having a few lilies, yes, but it turns out the entire back half is covered with them. It’ll be a bigger job that I had planned on to remove them all. I’ll probably just have to remove the rocks and dig the entire garden out–the lilies have been growing there for at least 30 years as well 😛 I may have to give it a pass this year and tackle it next year instead. I already have too many projects right now as it is.

It looks like the plain white Shasta daisies have survived and are thriving. I have at least 6 well-established clumps of them in the long flower garden in the backyard–they are currently the most prominent flower in that garden. The plan is to remove all but, say, two of them–maybe I’ll even move one to my Moon Garden. I should also have a regular purple echinacea and a small pink rose bush in that garden–I found the rose, but not the echinacea as of yet. And, of course, the ubiquitous construction-cone orange day lilies.

(I actually have a few cool red-orange day lilies that I’ll save, but I believe those are all lining the alley–not in the garden itself. I despise the plain bright orange ones–they are everywhere in my neighborhood, and look so boring.)

Finally, the hostas, which up until a few years ago had been ringing an overgrown Eastern Cedar, look like they may finally have died. Hostas are a shade-loving plant, but since the cedar was removed a few years ago due to old age, they’ve had nothing but direct afternoon sun. I’m surprised they’ve lasted this long. In their place, I’m planning on putting some sweet peas and a trellis.

I’ll post phots of the backyard as planting and such progresses, but for now, I’m just happy to have been in the garden.