spring ephemerals
Tuesday, 21 April 2026, 07:47 pmSpring is springing around these parts! I have decked out my back porch hayracks with pansies, alyssum, and daffodils, even though I know I'll be pulling them out in a month for summer flowers. The spring color is worth it after a long winter. I'm growing zonal geraniums from seed under the grow lights in my home office, so the summer containers will be much cheaper than the spring ones. Maybe next year I'll finally grow my own pansies to save some money.
Meanwhile, it's a veritable daffodil party in the yard. The succession starts with the cheery mini yellow Tête-à-Tête, followed by the tall white and yellow Ice Follies, then the fluffy double Lingerie, and finally some demure yellow and orange Cornish Dawn. In the backyard, there's a little stand of Golden Echo under our cherry tree. None of the newly planted purple tulips are open yet, though they are showing a hint of color. A couple of the old yellow and red tulips have popped up despite everything, though they've also mostly been beheaded by squirrels or rabbits. The early crocus met a similar fate, though I got to enjoy them for a few days before they disappeared overnight into a critter's belly. I should probably stick with daffodils.
In the fall I also planted some blue Siberian squill, which was all very pretty until I learned that it's terribly invasive, so I went outside and dug it up while it was blooming. Sigh. Hopefully I got ahead of that problem.
Spring also brings some less welcome ephemerals, namely lesser celandine, which is really nasty stuff. There are two giant patches in the backyard. I realized what it was too late last year (there's a short window to treat it because it's an ephemeral), so I've been doing my best to eradicate it this year, though I suspect it will be a multi-year effort that involves herbicide. I am mostly opposed to herbicide, but I make exceptions for invasive plants, since stopping their spread feels like the greater good. (I do spot apply it with a foam brush since that's a more controlled application than a spray.) I've been pulling out black swallow-wort ever since I moved here--that's just mechanical removal by digging--but last year I also used herbicide to kill a tree of heaven and a white mulberry that had sprouted up on the property line. There's something else on the property line that is suspiciously green and cheery for this early in the spring, so I suspect I may need to deal with that soon. The folks on the other side of that property line really neglect their side yard, which is where most of our invasives come from. Though I did convince them to cut down the white mulberry by pointing out that it was growing way too close to their foundation.
One of the gardening people that I follow in Instagram has said she's no fun at parties because she knows too much about invasive plants. I kinda get it.
What signs of spring have you been enjoying?
Meanwhile, it's a veritable daffodil party in the yard. The succession starts with the cheery mini yellow Tête-à-Tête, followed by the tall white and yellow Ice Follies, then the fluffy double Lingerie, and finally some demure yellow and orange Cornish Dawn. In the backyard, there's a little stand of Golden Echo under our cherry tree. None of the newly planted purple tulips are open yet, though they are showing a hint of color. A couple of the old yellow and red tulips have popped up despite everything, though they've also mostly been beheaded by squirrels or rabbits. The early crocus met a similar fate, though I got to enjoy them for a few days before they disappeared overnight into a critter's belly. I should probably stick with daffodils.
In the fall I also planted some blue Siberian squill, which was all very pretty until I learned that it's terribly invasive, so I went outside and dug it up while it was blooming. Sigh. Hopefully I got ahead of that problem.
Spring also brings some less welcome ephemerals, namely lesser celandine, which is really nasty stuff. There are two giant patches in the backyard. I realized what it was too late last year (there's a short window to treat it because it's an ephemeral), so I've been doing my best to eradicate it this year, though I suspect it will be a multi-year effort that involves herbicide. I am mostly opposed to herbicide, but I make exceptions for invasive plants, since stopping their spread feels like the greater good. (I do spot apply it with a foam brush since that's a more controlled application than a spray.) I've been pulling out black swallow-wort ever since I moved here--that's just mechanical removal by digging--but last year I also used herbicide to kill a tree of heaven and a white mulberry that had sprouted up on the property line. There's something else on the property line that is suspiciously green and cheery for this early in the spring, so I suspect I may need to deal with that soon. The folks on the other side of that property line really neglect their side yard, which is where most of our invasives come from. Though I did convince them to cut down the white mulberry by pointing out that it was growing way too close to their foundation.
One of the gardening people that I follow in Instagram has said she's no fun at parties because she knows too much about invasive plants. I kinda get it.
What signs of spring have you been enjoying?
