Remember when we all thought that spring would never warm up? Well, it did. The cliches often say that we'd skip right over spring and move directly into summer, and that assessment wasn't very far off here in central Ohio. Our last frost was back in April, so I planted my containers early this year. While I have plenty of ground plantings, I find summer containers to be one of my favorite ways to garden.
Despite the current warm weather, we still started out the month of May with tulips. Normally they'd peak a couple weeks earlier, but were delayed by April's chill. The good part is that the chill made the blooms last extra long.
Next came all the other spring favorites, lilacs, columbines, redbuds, crabapples, and one of my personal favorite blooming trees, Chinese fringe tree. All the spring color made me almost giddy!
But the spring pastels quickly gave way to summer's more vibrant colors. I think this photo of my front walk illustrates that very point. Yes, that colorful pot on the front porch is a little jarring mixed with all the pastels around it. I fell victim to its glorious color combination while at the nursery, but when I got it home, I couldn't figure out how to make it work. The verdict is still out. When it comes to bright colors, I try to limit them to my back patio, while keeping the front a bit more subdued. I'm not always successful, because I dearly love bright colors.
And so here we are on Memorial Day weekend, when the summer season has its unofficial start. My garden is growing rapidly, and I'm already in summer mode, where I spend long hours outdoors enjoying it all. It's the season I wait for all year long!
