April Showers
By Louise Heiselman
May 14, 2004
April Showers bring May Flowers." Every year here in Nebraska we hear this saying when it rains in April. This year we didn’t get much rain, but with the warmer than usual temperatures many of our flowers and shrubs started to bloom two or three weeks earlier than usual. I remember some years in the forties when we had a hard time finding flowers for the May Baskets.
Did you ever look in a magazine and see a beautiful picture of a yard with flowers that do not all bloom at the same time but were painted in the picture that way and you wished your yard could look like that all the time?
I have learned there is a season and a blooming period for all the different flowers and we have to be satisfied to plant our flower beds so that we can have flowers blooming that complement one another at different times. I have planted a lot of bulbs that come up and bloom early, then a lot of perennials that come up every year so I don’t have to worry about them and I can plant annuals in the same bed that will be blooming at a different time so I can continue to have color in that bed. I have a large property with several old-fashioned flower beds and a fish pond and several areas for sitting for a spell to enjoy nature.
I would like to tell you about one perennial that blooms early for only two or three weeks and then it disappears until the next spring. It is really considered a wildflower. I look forward to it every spring, it is the Virginia Bluebell; as the name implies, it has nodding blue clusters of blue bell shaped flowers. The plant is only between 18’’ and 24"tall and prefers more shade. It works well to plant near a bush or Hostas that will cover the plant when it disappears, so you don’t dig it up by mistake. If you want to save seeds from the flowers don’t wait until they are completely dry or you will have a hard time collecting them.
Several years ago, my daughter, Peggy, knowing how much I enjoy my flower gardening, asked me why I didn’t take the Master Gardeners instructions. I told her I had heard the name but I really didn’t know anything about them. She informed me that she had already checked into it and had found out how many hours of training I would have to take and how much it would cost. I thought about it for a few days and then I called the extension office and made arrangements to take the classes. Besides taking the course one has to promise to give 40 hours of service in different ways that work best for the individual. It can be giving talks to groups about flowers or gardening, caring for flower beds at the fairgrounds, working at the state fair flower exhibit, etc. Each year you take refresher courses and give 40 more hours of service to receive your certificate. The last three years I felt like I was doing good to keep my own flower beds in shape so I have not continued in the program. I would like to encourage others that really enjoy flowers, shrubs and gardening to take the "Master Gardener" training. This year my daughter, Lynda, who lives in Ashland KY., got her Master Gardner certificate.
Louise