TheMondayGarden.com

picture: slope where the snowdrops grow. In the foreground is a young but invasive sycamore maple being strangled by an even more invasive Asian bittersweet vine. Stamford March 2005.

pictures: Another clump of snowdrops; here at the edge of a yard that has been generally neglected for years. Just behind the snowdrops though is another sign of spring, look closely at the telephoto shot of the spruce for two denizens of a concealed open-platform tree house.

picture: Squirrel-stolen early daffodils, Bedford Street Stamford CT March 2005.

Daffodils: The winning daffodils have been growing, for many years, in the debris along a 4-lane highway. This slope has never been landscaped but is occasionally cut to the ground, and the year before last sprayed with herbicides by either the Department of Transportation or the utility company. It’s hot, sunny and dry in the summer. Since there’s no human-logic to the placement of the bulbs, I’ll credit the industrious local squirrels for having stolen them from a neighboring garden.

Daffodils and narcissi are one to the absolute best long-term bulb purchases. Most cultivars, especially the common, cheaper ones, are very hardy and multiply enough to be divided every 5 years or so. Like most spring bulbs, they want full sun during their growth phase and will rot if the soil is soggy during their dormant period. Plant the prescribed depth to prevent frost damage. The dying foliage can be unattractive, so plant them with ferns, hosta, or something else that will sprout mid-spring to cover the dying foliage and the ensuing bare spot.

pictures: bare slope where the above daffodils grow – look careful for them in the upper right. Middle picture: Daffodils at my mother’s in 2004 – from the White Flower Farm collection, which I think is a great buy. Picture to the right: Tulips are generally not as good a buy a daffodils; most die quite quickly, and Many gardeners treat them as annuals. The little species ones that my mother likes are much hardier.

pictures: From my mother’s garden in 2004: one of my favorites, the early-blooming blue scillia which can withstand more shade and dampness than most spring bulbs. Second picture: Along Prospect Street in Stamford CT, in early March 2005, the first guys up are these crocus on a protected sunny slope. Be careful where you plant crocus as they also have persistent not-so-attractive foliage. That’s why many people plant them in the lawn.

picture: My mother’s garden 2004: mini daffodils, scilla, both blue and white striped; pansies and primroses. Lots of little spring bulbs are wonderful but restrict yourself to only a few colors. Here’s the scheme in blues, white, and yellows with accents in pink and red; no orange allowed (at least most of the time).

picture: The mini-daffodils and narcissi are wonderful but need the right dry, sunny spot and deep plating to be fully hardy. My mother’s garden Spring 2004.

picture: grape hyacinths are also extremely hardy and spread. This group started out in a pot on my balcony and then went to my mother’s; here they are a few years later. Spring 2004. They also have foliage that needs covering in late spring. However, they also send out foliage in late fall that can persist through winter, adding a touch of green.

picture: the native dog violets grow like crazy and are a favorite of the rabbits. Plenty of clover in the lawn and violets in the borders keep the rabbits out of my mother’s garden. Feeding the squirrels prevents them from munching up the crocus flowers.

Wildlife: Have you ever wondered why early spring bloomers don’t freeze? It’s because they manufacture sugars that act as anti-freeze. Unfortunately, this makes them mouth-watering, as well as nutritious, for the hungry rabbits, squirrels, and other small furry critters that share your garden space with you. Keep in mind that there’s very little for the furry ones to eat early in the season, other than your treasured garden plants. If you would like to enjoy your early flowers (particularly that squirrel favorite, the crocus), provide store-bought food for the critters. There are hundreds of homemade and commercial formulas to keep the critters out of the bulbs, but it is a lot easier, and more effective, to give them something to eat. Now that we have hawks and coyotes downtown, you don’t have to worry about supplemental feeding leading to overpopulation.

Wet areas: Most spring bulbs can NOT take wet. Scillia, grape hyacinths, and some of the narcissi are among the best for wet conditions. For damp shade, go with native woodland swampy plants like ferns, marsh marigold, and jack in the pulpit; forget-me-nots and primroses can also do well. For sunny damp, the native spring beauties are wonderful and as some of the early blooming creeping ground covers.