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Award winner author of gardening humor books

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May Dreams Gardens

Springtime Panic = Spranic

May 6, 2013 By Carol Michel 11 Comments

Syringa vulgaris ‘Sensation’

Ah, Spring.

Spring has fully arrived here in central Indiana.  The tulips are fading and the crabapple blossoms are falling.  I just set out my tomato and pepper seedlings so they can harden off and get used to the great outdoors before I plant them out in the vegetable garden.

Out in the vegetable garden, the peas are close to a foot tall and it is well past time to thin out the lettuce and radish seedlings.  I just cut back the cover crop still growing on one of the beds and weeded my way through some of the other beds.

I have enjoyed this spring so far. It started out much slower than last year, when spring came out of the chute running like mad toward summer.

But after the slow start, this spring seems to be speeding up. It is now going at a speed that has caused me to again get to the point when I wonder if I will get everything planted, weeded, mulched, set up, set out, pruned, and otherwise readied for the onset of summer.

In other words, after watching it rain on yet another weekend day, I am in a full state of springtime panic, also know as “spranic”.

Are you spranicking?  Do you think you’ll get it all done this spring, completing all those gardening plans you made all winter?  Back in the winter, I imagined only sunny spring days, with no other activities, other than gardening, vying for my time, so my plans are big.

I was going to get it all done this spring. This beautiful spring.  Then I’d sit back and smell the lilacs. 

Right now, though, I have no time for smelling lilacs.  When I was mowing the lawn on Saturday, under overcast skies threatening rain every second, I noticed that a new-to-me lilac was blooming. I ran out later and took a picture of it just as it started to actually rain.

I puzzled over that lilac for a second or two. I didn’t remember buying a lilac with flowers edged in white. I thought I bought ‘President Lincoln’, which has almost blue flowers.

Thanks to friends on Facebook, I quickly found out that my new lilac is most likely ‘Sensation’.  That’s fine. It’s pretty. I’ll take it.  I assume it smells nice, though honestly, I only had a few seconds to snap the picture before the rain started, so I didn’t smell it to be sure.

Since I took that picture of the “hey you aren’t President Lincoln you are Sensation” lilac, I’ve been watching the rain. With each raindrop, I can feel that sense of spranic springing up within me.  I am spranicking about weeding.  I am spranicking about mulching. I am spranicking about even getting to the garden centers before the good plants are all sold.  I am spranicking about spranicking because I know better after all these years.

I know I’ll get this place whipped into shape before summer. I know I’ll find plants to buy. I know I’ll have a chance to enjoy the lilacs before they are bloomed out.

I just have to remind myself that I know these things so I can keep from spranicking…

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: humor, spring

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathy says

    May 6, 2013 at 3:44 am

    Been there, done that: Spring Panic

    Reply
  2. Beth says

    May 6, 2013 at 4:36 am

    Early good spring weather in Oregon this yaer, so I was able to get started by mid-April instead of early May, Still feel like a gerbil in a wheel – running frantically and getting nowhere fast!

    Reply
  3. Lisa at Greenbow says

    May 6, 2013 at 11:55 am

    I am not panicing as yet. I am a little irritated about all the rain. It sure puts a damper on the ability to do much in the garden. I am hoping that we dont' go straight into a drought after all this rain.

    Reply
  4. Lea says

    May 6, 2013 at 12:33 pm

    Very close to Spranic here, too.
    I keep buying plants when I haven't found a place for the ones I bought the day before! I am grateful for the rain, makes the garden grow, but I really need sunny days to get things done.
    Lovely lilac!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

    Reply
  5. Christys Cottage Wildlife Garden says

    May 6, 2013 at 1:00 pm

    Yes, I am in full spranic mode because it just keeps raining! Now I know I should be glad for the water, but this is crazy! We have not been able to get into the vege garden to plant because it's so wet, so many weeds to pull, my lawn is a foot tall and everything is just soggy. More rain expected today and I've got so much to do. I need some sunshine!

    Reply
  6. Donna says

    May 6, 2013 at 1:38 pm

    I am definitely in full sprainic mode as our March and early April did not allow for gardening…love the lilac.

    Reply
  7. Mara Paz says

    May 6, 2013 at 1:56 pm

    I'm definitely spranicking. There is so much to do… but I'm trying to enjoy the roses, too.

    Reply
  8. Covegirl says

    May 6, 2013 at 3:05 pm

    Definitely spranicking. Way too much to do and not enough time! I'm so happy that Spring has sprung, though!

    Reply
  9. Covegirl says

    May 6, 2013 at 3:06 pm

    Definitely spranicking! way too much to do and not enough time. I'm so glad that spring has sprung, though.

    Reply
  10. Rose says

    May 7, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    Carol, you must have read my mind! I felt pretty good when I finally got the last garden bed cleared of last year's debris, but now the weeds are starting to fill in and I need to put down mulch before they take over and I need to buy plants before they're all gone…ACK!! And once again, the rain clouds are threatening. We all just need to take a deep breath and tell ourselves it will get done eventually.

    Reply
  11. spurge says

    May 7, 2013 at 5:18 pm

    You crack me up, as usual! Yes, I am so spranicking, especially since the spring was late. A pent-up garden energy explosion is imminent.

    Reply

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