In the Spring, a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of...

Gardening!  The past few days it truly has felt like Spring. We hit 50 on Monday.  I even caught a glimpse of grass in my yard, which lead to thoughts of my garden.

My garden came into being on a summer day a few years ago.  On a whim, I asked my teenage son if he and a friend would dig up a strip of yard along the sidewalk. Of course, I would pay them. He said yes, but knowing how teenage boys operate I figured it would get done sometime in the fall. This would give me time to plan-how to prep the soil, lay out a well-coordinated flower plot, and plant the following spring. Well they must have needed the money, because two days later I had a muddy strip of yard 20 feet long and 4 feet wide dug up. My timetable suddenly moved forward.

Now what?  I knew peonies would do well in the heavy, clay based soil since the house came with many well-established plants. And I love the big, overblown flowers with their luscious scent.  Peonies would form the backbone of the garden. But where to go from there? I hit the library's gardening section.

My hands down favorite gardening book is this one:

Don't judge a book by it's cover. This is  'Easy Care Perennials' by Patricia Taylor. In my opinion the best book for a lazy gardener.  Every suggestion she gives for our climate is thriving. Some of them have taken off so well that I need to divide them (thrifty).If you are at all hesitant about your ability to garden I highly recommend this book.

My other go-to gardening book is 'English Cottage Gardening for American Gardeners' by Margaret Hensel. Lots of inspiration as well as practical planning tips. If you dream of living in England but you live in the Midwest, your garden will have you thinking you live in the Cotswolds. Tea is in order, I should think.

If you need further help, the Douglas County Extension website has lots of information.  http://douglas.uwex.edu/.  The Lake Superior Master Gardener Association is another good local resource http://lsmga.weebly.com/  I especially look forward to their plant sale in June. In the meantime, hit the shelves at the library.  Our gardening section is huge and there is something  for everyone-just look for the blue 'gardening' sign. And be sure to check out our display of gardening themed books.  In no time you'll be enjoying your lovely new outdoor space. We'll ignore the weeding for now.