March 2025

Spring arrived with hundreds of daffodil varieties; yellows, whites, touches of orange ring in the new season. False snow drops reach for the sky while they laugh at the deer. Tulips are poking up through the mulch, protected from deer browse by wildlife netting. We wonder what the upcoming tariffs will do to that crop.

Meanwhile in the hoop houses hundreds of tiny lisinathus were planted this week. They nestle in with snapdragons & campanula seedlings that were planted in November and overwintered with protective coverings. Ranunculus and anemone are just starting to bloom; their tiny corms planted in December, January and February to provide weeks of colorful blooms.

Sweet peas are growing steadily and the eucalyptus is pushing out tiny leaves at the bases of their woody stems. The first succession of stock promises fragrant blooms come May and the first 2 successions of sunflowers are happy for the extra warmth & light the hoop house provides.

In the field, the dahlia beds have been uncovered and are starting to poke up from the ground. We moved several hundred tubers in hopes of rejuvinating the crop. Fingers crossed that the distrubed fall tubers overwintered. In the woody field the deer are being kept at bay by new 8’ fencing. The spirea is just blooming with mock orange leafing out. We’re excited that our ninebark bushes will finally be able to grow without the constant pressure from deer browse.

Deer devastated our farm last year. We have a herd of at least 30 that travel the perimter of our fields. For years we have kept them at bay using electric fencing but last year they entered the garden from the street, grazing on everything they could eat. Who knew they liked black eyed susans, hydrangeas and moonflowers? Next month we plan to erect an 8’ plastic netting deer fence around the perimeter of the garden. We’re not crazy about fences; their esthetics downplay the garden, but deer do so much damage now that we are forced to put looks aside, deal with grassy boarders and deal with viney weeds that the fence may encounter.

Here’s to a new season.