Renew & Refresh While March and April may be too cold to begin working in the garden, May most often brings the warmer temperatures required for serious preparation. May 1st is a feast day of fertility, bringing the earth back to be blessed by the sun for growth. No matter the size of your yard or gardens, the warmth of May calls for getting in touch with Mother Earth. Review your current plot of land. Note any changes made by the winter weather. If minimal clean up is required, rid the leaves and any winter deadfall. Raking or “fluffing” mulch, turning over the earth in vegetable garden plots, and pruning bushes are all a great idea as well. Don’t forget that there may be plants and decorations which have not survived the cold weather and must be discarded. Or are you inspired to make alterations? Revise the outline of a flower bed. Change out the plants in the same. Replace an unwieldy shrub with one of more appropriate size. This might be the year to switch the theme of the gardens – different plants, in the same. Replace an unwieldy shrub with one of more appropriate size. This might be the year to switchmore the appropriate size. This might be the year to switch the theme of the gardens: different plants, flowers and shrubs, and different decorations. Or, for example, try a fairy theme or a bee theme. Should change be your choice, I suggest going the economy route. Garden spots often have slightly damaged decorations which they will be happy to sell at reduced prices. A fairy statue with a broken wing or an unraveling bee skep – the wee folk and the bee folk will bless you for rescuing from the trash something which looks at home in your garden. Consider varying vegetables. Try something more exotic: heirloom potatoes? Think about a more rustic yard instead of a manicured lawn. Several trees have been removed from my property; one autumn the trees culled were not large, and they were put intact at the rear of the yard. By choosing to not fully remove those trees in the spring, their trunks and branches became a haven for chipmunks, squirrels, and ground birds. Although this was only temporary for one year, it was visually delightful to have provided a playground for earth’s creatures. Finally, set a schedule for regular mowing/maintenance with a professional or on your own calendar. Perhaps you only have windowsill or balcony gardens, or kitchen gardens of herbs. Even if you have only deck, patio, windowsill or balcony Chance, 1901
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