03.05.2024 | Tuesday in Lent

It's overcast here in the Carondelet Garden on this first Tuesday of March.  There is a slight chance of a rain shower but who knows?  It's St. Louis!

The old gardener has been toying with the idea of a Boulevard Native Garden for a long time.  The only grass I have left is in the Boulevard between the sidewalk and street.  I've removed the Zoysia and I am getting ready to mix in some good compost and get things ready for seeding in a little over a month.  The average last frost date for the Carondelet area is April 12th.  My plan is to wait until then to begin the seeding process.  I'm very excited about the possibilities.  I have one more Boulevard with a tree and a lot of Crocus plants.  That is going to wait until I see how this one turns out.  No Mow May will hopefully turn into No Mow No More!  

Here is a list of the plants I'm planning:

• Side-oats Grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) 
• Lance-leaf Coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata) 
• Sundial Lupine (Lupinus perennis subsp. perennis) 
• Spotted Bee Balm (Monarda punctata) 
• Aromatic Aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium) 
• Hoary Vervain (Verbena stricta) 

Working in the garden is such a joy right now.  The smell, the actual smell.  The measurable smell of plants growing is literally filtering through my system.  I'm basking in the moderate temperatures these past few days.  I'm loving the extra light and the flowers peeking their tiny heads above the ground.  The Crocus, the Daffodils, and Hellebores are such a delight.  

Gardens are the call to come away and rest awhile.  What would happen to our hearts if there were no place for us to find the beauty of quiet in an over noisy, overcrowded, overstimulating world.  What a gift to enter into a sanctuary to work, to pray, to listen, and simply be.  

It's a good day for a good day.  Be good and be kind to yourself and others as you travel about on this Tuesday in March.  That's all the news from here in the Carondelet Garden.