On Saturday, we had 25 people over for brunch. It was tremendous fun, and the children played outside and had a grand time. The weather was really pleasant–I want to think it was in the mid-60s, though I can’t remember exactly–and certainly sunny. But as much fun as it was, on a day like that I long to get out in the garden and get moving!

I fertilized and thinned out the Festuca ‘Elijah Blue’ at the base of the scree garden. I fertilized the hellebores, which are blooming now, and the Christmas ferns which are plugging along. They will enjoy a dressing of composted horse manure when I order it later this spring.

I finished moving four yards of gravel on Friday just before it began to rain. The rain was short-lived, but had I not cleared it I am sure we would have had a gullywasher and I would have seen all my lovely drainage grit wash down the drive, down the hill, and far away.

I also lightly fertilized the front walk garden, which has a great number of evergreen shrubs and perennials and grasses which are getting ready to take off. And I fertilized the grasses on the blue slope–the Panicum ‘Heavy Metal’ and the rue and the Elymus whatever. I’ll find the tag eventually.

I am not entirely sure that all the fertilizing was necessary. The grasses need a bit because my soil is rather poor, but in another year or so they’ll be in good shape and probably won’t demand much more than an occasional dressing with worm compost. That’s the idea, anyway. I like to have as much as possible be self-sustaining, as I am conscious of the problems of fertilizer runoff, but I suspect that the less-than-magazine-worthy displays on my property may be traced to a lack of fertilization. And water. So we’ll see this year. Vowing to stay on top of it without overdoing it.