May! At LAST! And all craziness in the garden has broken loose. The mantra in the Rockies is not to plant anything before May 14, or Mother’s Day, whichever is latest. This is, however, a newer rule. Consulting my trusty volume, How to have Good Gardens in the Sunshine States, published in 1957, the author, George W. Kelly, writes, “Towards this end of the month many like to take the chance of killing frosts being over and put out the tender annuals. One old rule here, is, “wait until after Decoration Day.” Well, that’s now called Memorial Day and falls this year on May 26. But who can wait? And why do so when the warming winds and soaking rains of spring come earlier, tho’ rather more erratically, that those of yesteryear?
There’s so much to be getting on with in the garden that this Sunshine State gardener hardly knows where to begin. So, as I’ve done for decades, I turn to my library to chart a to-do calendar. As I write this, it’s already the middle of the month and, taking Mr. Kelly’s advice, that “all our Rocky mountain soil needs humus to improve its texture and plant-food value”, I began early by digging in lots of compost, leaf mold and last year’s potting soil, to bring the growing medium up to scratch.
One of my most trusted guides is an old copy of Phillip Miller’s, The Gardener’s Calendar, Directing the necessary Works to be done Every Month. The book I own once belonged to Ann Davis, who inscribed the copy as hers on September 20, 1781, six years after its publication in London in 1775. But given the advice offered, it could’ve been issued last year! Some things don’t really change that much, and gardening practice is one such.
Miller begins by counseling to avoid putting out “esculent” plants (peas and beans) in hot, dry weather, but if it is wet, the “markets are well stocked with most sorts of garden plants.” Indeed! I’ve already dropped quite a chunk of change at a local nursery. In the intermountain west these days, the weather is a little bit of both, plus gusty winds that dry plants and soil out super-quick. And temperature can plunge to low the 40s after a 68°F-but-feels-80° day. I believe being closer to the sun has a lot to answer for!
Phillip Miller was once member of the Botanic Academy of Florence (aka Giardini di Semplici), which was founded in 1545 by Cosimo de Medici to house the family’s medicinal plant collection, and thus might explain Miller’s diligence in describing how to deal with plants in the greenhouse, starting with the orange trees, for which he counsels going easy on feeding as they begin to flower. Other than that, it’s time to begin moving tender plants outdoors with caution and an eye on the weather, to repot plants that have outgrown their quarters, and generally tidy up. So, these things I have done, tho’ shlepping potted lemon verbenas and other tender things in and out of doors is hard on the old back…shoulders…knees. You get the picture. Cosimo had staff!
The biggest thrill for me at this point in the garden calendar is seeing the irises begin to flower. My son’s first house had a super-abundance of named varieties in a dedicated collection bed. These he passed to me; I kept some and gave the remainder to the local Iris Society who maintain a garden at a nearby library.
And then there are the tomato starts; I collected seed from two varieties that I originally grew from seed purchased in Florence: ‘Cuore del Ponente’ and ‘Costoluco Fiorentino’. I was bit late getting the seed sown, but a friend with a heated greenhouse and grow lights, raised some for me and produced the most handsome plants. Sharing is definitely one of the joys of gardening, so I’m all set to welcome summer, the weeding and watering and forward planning, which in the gardener’s world, NEVER stops.
Ethne Clarke 2025
Longs Iris garden in Boulder, Colorado, breeds and sells irises; part of the fun of shopping there is you get to dig your own from their fields.
This tomato is listed as ‘Red Pear’ in the online catalogue from Grow Italian seeds, and looks every bit like ‘Cuore del Ponente’. They also list ‘Costoluco Fiorentino’.
The Botanic Garden of Florence is worth a visit if you’re fortunate to visit that beautiful city. Here’s info about the famous ‘Giardini di Simplici’.