Notes from the Garden: Lots of Rain and Little Sun

It’s been an odd spring. Actually, odd is becoming (has ready become?) the new normal. We’ve been very wet, and lest you think I am relying on my handwritten notes recounting rainfall amounts (scribbled on the calendar on our fridge), greater minds than mine confirm my assessment. Lexington has received 20 inches of rain since March 1! All that precipitation translates into a lack of sunlight, and chilly soil temperatures. My tomatoes are alive – but not really growing. I haven’t dared put out my beans or cucumbers, because the ground simply isn’t warm enough.

The skies look threatening every other day (or so it seems).

I haven’t embarked on any ambitious new projects in the garden – well, unless you count enlarging a border bed (it doesn’t count, does it, if it was already there and I am just making it a wee bit wider?). The weeds have not been deterred by the weather, and the Japanese stiltgrass is growing like mad (such a nasty invasive plant).

Thankfully, many of the ornamental plants in my garden are thrilled by our cool, wet spring – and there are plenty of blooms to make me smile.

The climbing roses aren’t deterred by the rain…

…Except when a heavy downpour leaves them looking more than slightly bedraggled!

The larkspur does what it wishes, but its reseeding this spring was less prolific than 2024.

One gardening goal this year (other than urging my tomato seedlings to grow, please grow!) is to propagate more oakleaf hydrangeas, because I can’t afford to buy well-established plants at local nurseries.

I had to trim back some exuberant oakleaf hydrangea, so the extras went into an arrangement.

One of our previous wildflower plots from a few years ago has been given over to tree seedlings, but I was delighted to find some Sweet William had reseeded nearby.

Sweet William is an old fashioned flower I adore.

I am never at a loss as to how to occupy my time in the garden – perennials to divide, shrubs to prune, weeds to eradicate (or at least bludgeon with curses)  -the list is endless! Although my gardens are more expansive than ever, I remain an instinctive gardener, and lack a gardening philosophy beyond serendipity.

This point was driven home to me as I contemplated a talk I will be giving on gardening on Saturday, June 7 (12-1 pm) at the Montgomery County Public Library in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.

The Iris did very well this spring.

The library recently received a 2025 Special Project Grant from the Kentucky Department of Library and Archives. The grant funds will help implement environmental education and develop a demonstration pollinator garden. I’ve donated some plants (bee balm, goldenrod, and zinnas) to the the garden, and will be discussing wildflower gardens – which in my case, means a mix of natives, wildflowers, heirloom plants, and plants that I love.

As I contemplated what to talk about, I realized that I was even sure about the difference between “wildflower” and “native.” What about plants that grow everywhere now, but were introduced to the Americas by Europeans centuries ago? Are all wildflowers natives? Are the plants best for pollinators the ones you should be growing?

Bachelor buttons are easy care and mostly reseed, but I always want more.

For example, Centaurea cyanus, more commonly known as Bachelor Buttons, are a mainstay of many popular wildflower seed mixes, including the Midwest Wildflower Seed Mix from American Meadows. (I hate it when Kentucky is lumped into the Midwest, but lots of people do it. “The Upland South” is likely to catch on anytime soon.) But Bachelor Buttons aren’t native, and are considered weeds or invasive in some areas of the US.

The happy part of this mental exercise is that I had an excuse to rifle through our bookshelves and also check a bunch of books from the library…and perhaps I will answer some of my own questions. Gardening is good for the body, the soul, and the mind!