old friends

Nothing bothers me more, once the garden starts filling out, than to not know if I’m looking at weeds or new growth. I like the fresh greens of spring to stand out against a setting of black. So Saturday I spent some hours weeding the garden.

The weeds were plentiful alright. They flourish from early March in our temperate climate. It felt good to dig around in all my various beds. I tried to remove some of the moss too. Moss is my biggest bane. It spreads quickly in moisture and shade. It’s been a very wet spring here and my yard has lots of shade.

I also got reacquainted with some of my perennials – and was reminded of the friends who gave them to me.



The pink-to-blue* Lungwort (above left), for example, was given to me by Allison in 1991 (I know because I wrote a note in my flower book). She was the mom of one of my son’s Grade 1 friends and I’ve long lost touch with her. But the descendant of the cutting of Lungwort she gave me still reminds me of the sobering news she shared over spring break that year – that her husband was seeing someone else and they’d be splitting up.

Pink Lamium (above right) reminds me of Mom, who as soon as she saw it, wanted some as a ground cover for the cedars beside her condo.



This mauve speckled Violet was from my friend Jill – who still often comes through with thoughtful gifts, like plants with my name.

So Saturday turned out to be not only about weeding at all!

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*Lungwort opens from pink buds and the flowers turn blue as they mature.