Saturday, March 26, 2011

“Dela-where?! Magical Little Microcosm of the World”

Today marks the first year anniversary of “Dirty Thoughts.” Thanks to all my readers for urging me on, encouraging me to dangerously new lows in dirty thinking!

In the spirit of dirty thoughts, I entertained a variety of ideas, some related to performance anxiety, others related to, let’s say, premature display.

But a friend from Canada gave me yesterday the perfect one year anniversary “gift” and subject. Despite our early spring frost yesterday morning, and despite the mid-20s temperatures last night, the damage from which is not yet apparent as it is the wee early hours of the morning as I write this, the gardens are reawakening from their not so long winter slumber. A lot is happening: from unfurling fern fronds to the protrusion from the soil of many hostas and the Solange peony cultivar (a Chinese double white I bought last fall), to the flowering of Pieris japonica, the daffodils, and Corona kaufmanniana tulips (the earliest blooming tulip varietal).

George, having seen photos of all that is occurring, asked yesterday, in response to seeing photos of my garden on Facebook, “Are you kidding me? Your garden looks like this right now? Dela-where is this magical little microcosm of the world?!?!
 
What a perfect anniversary gift.

When I interviewed for the job at the University of Delaware, I was “wooed” with the fact that “Delaware is close to everywhere you want to be: New York, Washington, Philadelphia.”

Perhaps in the gardening world little old Delaware—The First State, the three little raucous counties that took history by the horns and told the heirs of William Penn and Lord Baltimore to hell with each of you and seceded from Pennsylvania—really is everywhere you want to be (at least in late March).


(The now 7 inch tall flower of Petasites japonica, a.k.a. Giant Butterbur)


(The spikes of one of several hostas protruding from the soil)


(The fronds of the Holly Fern in the East Side Shade Garden)
(And Gramsci's delicacy: Hakone Japanese Forest Grass)
 

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