The Miracle of Spring

I've been thinking a lot of my plants and garden plans.  This was my first real spring after doing so much planting and planning last year, and it's amazing to see the fight for survival play out in my backyard.  Dawn's mom had bought me a Kaffir Lime plant last year.  True to my indoor black thumb, it was dried up and dead within weeks of bringing it inside to overwinter.  After a time, I stopped watering it, relegating it to the the small list of houseplants I have killed over the years.  You see, I already know my gift of plant stewardship ends at the threshold of my back door.  Without ground to spread their roots, or rain to supply life-giving water, my house is as inhospitable to plants as a desert terrarium.  In any case, I thought I had another botanical victim, until last week, when I swore my eyes deceived me.  Was that green in the lime pot?  Sure enough, the plant was sending up shoots from the base of the trunk.  Tortured, brown and spiny, the main stalk had passed away months ago, leading me to think I had another botanical victim on my hands.   Luckily, it was clear that Mother Nature had granted my plant a last-ditch effort to resurrect itself.  This was my Easter miracle.  As the weather in North Carolina is continuing to warm up, I promptly took my lovely lime outside, to be heralded by the spring sun and showers.  I'm sure it will survive, at least until winter.

This same process happened all over my garden.  I had replanted a sad hosta, which was a Walmart special last year, and it is so happy now.  Double the growth in week!  Also, the striated leaves are more prominent.  Two of the Wally world ostrich ferns poked their fiddle heads above the ground in the new tree beds I made of alpaca compost and leaf mold.  No sign of bleeding hearts yet.   It's possible I planted them too deep.  Recon when the sun comes up!  The potted comfrey and peony are reviving nicely, and the rest of the crew, save the rosemary and lavender that officially died last year from lack of water, are doing well.

Last night, I mixed up a fragrant batch of soil for the strawberry towers, complete with Starbucks coffee grounds.  I will finish it off with some alpaca manure and get them planted, though it is a bit late.  Also, I cut the wood for the salad table cage.  The squirrels are way too interested in them for me to start planting, and my head lettuce is getting leggy.  That's all for now!