Spring Garden- Survival of the fittest

Spring in the garden is a busy time, early bulbs are up, everything looks fresh and new, and the impulse to  be outside on nice days is high. Before I stuff my container garden with more plants, I need to check to see what made it over winter. So far, my Captain Kirk Hosta, Ostrich Fern and Heuchera are up. 

Hosta and Huechera ready for spring

 I have a Tatting fern and some toad lilies I am still waiting on, though I doubt they made it.

I have hope for the Tatting Fern

 I also managed to kill a rosemary. This has happened the last two winters. I think that it needed to be drier during most of the winter, or a bigger container. It’s a bummer since in the Pacific Northwest it should be evergreen. Oops.  I am constantly telling people that gardening is about experimentation, put something in the ground and see if it survives. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. It is hard to predict exactly what will happen with a plant. It is a living thing after all. It’s something I get to remind myself of, every spring when I make the rounds to see what survived.

Aquilegia, it may bloom this year

Scented Geranium, sometimes they grow back from the base for me, which is rare

Another scented geranium