Acair Fearann

Ninety degrees for two, looks like possibly three, days in a row…brings spring to a close for sure. Now for summer.

On the other hand, thanks to a team effort we will have a vegetable garden of a sort at least this year. I am hoping to get the winter squash bed created this weekend, and planted. Memorial Day for squash always seems to work fairly well. And starting them ahead of time in pots doesn’t really gain anything as far as I can tell.

We’ve had a good year for lilacs, though. Absolutely stunning, especially the big dark purple one.

From Walt Whitman, ‘When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d’ both one of the better elegies and better descriptions of a lilac.

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Our stands of it are blooming quite well this year; though it is shorter in height this year which is probably due to last year’s drought stunting the reserves of the plant.

A slow-growing plant, it is entirely reliant on that set of three leaves on that delicate stem to store energy in the rather small rhizome for next year. One set, one shot for the year. If broken, a mature plant will usually survive, but take years to bloom again. So how does one weed about it if the competing growth threatens to win out? The short answer is carefully. The better answer is with a pair of scissors. I try to clip any competing growth that is within the clump or within an inch or so of the trillium that could overtop it.This gives it the sunlight and more moisture as well as creating a better area for seedling germination.

The seeds may either germinate where they fall (if they get buried deep enough) or may be carried elsewhere, usually by ants (the scent of the seeds is designed to attract them) but sometimes by an animal that has eaten the seed pod.

Our clumps have finally spread beyond one tight group, which is a good thing.

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Actually, a bit more than that, on the left is the end of an old mill tailrace. And quite the mill it was, with a proper penstock and wheelpit and everything. Not much left now. But, having given water a channel, it tends to keep using it even after a century or so. I just liked the geometry of everything, so I snapped a snapshot as I took my work photos.

In other news, do you know how tedious it is to unravel umpteen hydrangea buds to squish the little worm in residence in each one? Oy.

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In a rather chilly and wet May, which is actually a good thing. A few daffodils are still going, actually at the peak of season for the Poets (Pheasant’s Eye) daffodil, but also a few lingering others; the apple trees, the lilacs, the carlesii viburnums are thinking about it; the early evergreen pink azaleas are almost done, the white small leaf evergreens are starting, and the big deciduous (Exbury types) are about to begin; the shadblows are finished, but the redbuds are in full bloom as are the native flowering dogwoods. A variety of wildflowers: the trout lilies are done, but the white trilliums are hitting their peak, as are the various wood anemone types. Bluets, violets, early rock iris, sweet woodruff, and that sort are all quite happy.

The sweet woodruff is particularly good this year. It takes its time, but once established in a place it likes, off it goes. The unraked, no foot traffic, no tall stuff, shade beneath the Japanese Maple seems particularly promising for it. I ought to have made some May wine!

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In this state and with these resources…it feels like a weird hybrid of chess, dreams, and cynical practicality. And what of the above will win out? There is a balance between the long term investment and the short term priorities, currently I have the privilege with working with both types, and it really does tend to alter the decisions that one makes if one is looking at rental return (measured in this year or the next) or ‘will I need to do this again this generation’. It is interesting. Both have their strong points.

But I don’t know which is better, I know which I prefer, but that isn’t necessarily the same thing. I do know that the only certainty is death and taxes…and…greater than both of those, the sheer glory of the day. The landscaping here goes from strength to strength, a living painting that year by year has a better foundation upon which to build. The equipment and the knowledge of that equipment, also builds strength upon strength. And the reason? Well, it won’t pay the bills, but the beauty of this land is enough in the moment when the clouds break and the sun shines upon the green fields.

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It’s been a bit uncertain this last year, but for a now truly ancient Thoroughbred with some health issues, he’s holding his own. And I think, enjoying the spring grass which is the important thing. Week after next we will have had him for 23 of those 32 years.

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