• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • The Gardenangelists Podcast
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Dear Friends and Gardeners: April 5, 2010

April 5, 2010 By Carol Michel 9 Comments

Dear Dee and Mary Ann and Gardening Friends Everywhere,

While I wait for the lawn to dry out so I can mow it, I thought I’d dash off this quick letter to get you caught up on my past week in the garden.

First off, the weather. We set two new records for high temperatures this past week, with temperatures around 82 F on a couple of days. The plants are definitely noticing and some trees like my Japanese Tree Lilac, Syringa reticulata, are almost fully leafed out.

The daffodils have been going strong all week and already some of them need to be deadheaded. More species tulips are also blooming, including Tulipa humilis ‘Persian Pearl’ pictured above. I took that picture when my nieces and nephews and a few other extended family and friends were running wildly around my backyard looking for plastic eggs filled with…

Money and candy.

You can see why the egg hunt in my backyard is a popular event!

I’m sure when I go out later today to mow the lawn, which I left uncut to make it easier to hide eggs, I’ll find an egg or two. I always do, either right after the hunt or a few days or months later. Of course, what I find is mine to keep.

Out in the vegetable garden, I finally sowed seeds for radishes and planted onion sets on Friday. Since I’m planting by the moon phases, I had to wait until at least March 30th to plant these root crops, since I missed the previous period of the waning moon which ended on March 14th. This is the latest I’ve sown radishes in a while, so I’m hoping for cooler temps so they aren’t too hot when I harvest them. I’ll report back in about three weeks to let you know how they are doing, as some of them should be ready to pull and eat by then.

My peas all look good, and I’m seeing little sprouts of spinach and lettuce now, too. I’ve done nothing to protect these seedlings from rabbits so far, but I think I’ll need to do something soon before they figure out that there are “good eats’ in the garden.

I know this week as long as the temperatures stay warm, some people will ask me if it would be okay to plant tomatoes outside now. I’ll tell them emphatically no, as we will still have some frosty nights between now and our usual frost-free date of mid May. I wrote about that very subject for my weekly newspaper column this week. Don’t get fooled into planting warm season crops too early.

I hope all is well in your gardens and that you had a happy Easter weekend.

Hortifully,

Carol

P.S. My Easter gathering may have been the only one where we got out the Fiskars® Momentum™ Reel Mower for people to try out. My sister and a couple of nieces pushed it around a bit and commented how easy it is to use and how fun, too. Unfortunately, I could not get them quite organized and focused enough to mow the entire lawn, so I’ll be doing that today. That’s okay…you all know how I enjoy mowing!

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: letters to gardening friends

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Annie in Austin says

    April 5, 2010 at 3:54 pm

    Fun post, Carol – and your tulips are spectacular. My favorite part is the way everyone got to try out the new mower…been rereading Adventures of Tom Sawyer?

    Annie at the Transplantable Rose

    PS Did you really hide some eggs in the compost pile? Anyone hunting for those deserved extra $$!

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    April 5, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    Your tulips are beautiful, and I haven't had an Easter egg hunt since my girls were little. Such fun!

    Reply
  3. Su says

    April 5, 2010 at 4:11 pm

    Oh how I wish for warm temperatures here – still in single figures. Beautiful tulips, it will be some time before mine bloom so I'll just enjoy yours!

    Reply
  4. Heather @ whats bloomingthis week says

    April 5, 2010 at 11:20 pm

    Hi Carol – It's been so warm here in Toronto that the tulips which weren't even blooming 2 days ago are almost finished this afternoon. Everything and everyone will be in for a shock if/when it gets cool again. But don't you just love how everything is awake all of a sudden?

    P.S. Can I come next year for the egg hunt – my grandchildren will be expecting money if they see your post.

    Reply
  5. Dee @ Red Dirt Ramblings says

    April 5, 2010 at 11:55 pm

    Cool Carol. Sounds like a very festive week at your house in spite of the high temps. My week was very sunny, and it was really warm here too a couple of days. This week appears to be more seasonable.~~Dee

    Reply
  6. Gail says

    April 6, 2010 at 1:29 am

    carol, Only you could get a mower out at a party and have folks almost ready to mow! I am glad it all went well for you and your guests…gail

    Reply
  7. Kathy says

    April 6, 2010 at 2:00 am

    I am glad you had good weather for the Easter egg hunt. I never went to one when I was a kid.

    Reply
  8. Orlando Realtor says

    April 6, 2010 at 2:54 am

    I live in Central Florida and really miss the Tulips, Crocus etc. I am originally from New York. I was in the grocery store tonight actually sniffing the Hyacinth which the floral dept. stocked for Easter. Your photos are beautiful. …keep posting about your "northern" bulbs.

    my business site: http://www.maxinethomashomes.com

    Reply
  9. Cindy, MCOK says

    April 8, 2010 at 12:51 am

    That Fiskars mower does make some people giddy. I bought one for the Executive Producer to use on what little grass we have left. It cracked me up to hear him on the phone with a friend, telling him all about it.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,060)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Sign up for my new substack newsletter

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT