The tantrums in my title refer to the April weather, not me. Although, as you can see in the photo below, yesterday did almost push me to the brink of tantrum-throwing!
Fortunately the snow didn’t settle properly but it is still very cold.
You may be wondering what that pile of soil is, slap bang in the middle of my garden…. let me explain. In the middle of winter I had the brilliant idea of making a new bed… most likely the final one in the flower garden. It will be right in the middle of the garden, between the Moon Bed and The ‘Edge.
So all that green expanse in the photos above will be filled. There will be a seating area in the centre of it, and the bed will contain only (or almost only) scented plants.
So after a couple of weeks of dry weather, and temperatures in the mid twenties (Yes, Celsius!) my Man of Many Talents set to work peeling off the grass with the tractor…
And at the end of the day this is what remained, ready to be hauled off the following day.
But then it rained. And it rained and rained all of the following week. And then to crown it all, yesterday it snowed, hailed, sleeted and rained. So removing all that heavy soil/grass sods will have to wait until the ground hardens up a bit, or we will have tire tracks all over the garden! The next stage will be tilling over the area and spreading mulch. Then some plants can go in and the seating area will be constructed.
So I must try and remain calm, pot on all the new plants I had bought that are waiting to go in the ground, and be patient… The weather forecast is not brilliant…
Joining Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for her In a Vase on Monday meme will certainly help distract me.
A few early Geum flowers which were braving the elements have been snipped and put in my Etsy vase, along with some of the lovely Spiraea ‘Magic Carpet’ and a few Pulsatilla seedheads.
The Geums do have labels, but the wind was so icy that I didn’t linger to read them! 😝
I do hope your weather is nicer than ours this week and your gardening plans for 2024 can move forward! In the meantime, do visit Cathy to see her pretty vase today.
Happy gardening!
Words and Herbs 
I would be having a tantrum waking up to that. Big thunder storms came through here, but most were just north of us, so we got a nice watering for the beds and lawn. Good luck on getting your big job done.
Thanks. I have managed to stay calm so far!
I sympathise. We’ve also had that variety of weather. I did have some early geums, then they were absolutely flattened with the pounding rain.
I hope you get to finish your bed sooner rather than later.
A very pretty vase 💚
Thank you Cathy. I have retrieved a winter pullover from the back of the wardrobe and am distracting myself with tea and crochet! LOL!
We’ve actually had a couple of reasonable days, so I managed a tidy up in the garden. Hope your weather improves soon!
Thanks!
A real Kaleidoscope of weather all one day who send me bananas too, particularly if I had a big project like yours. The arrangement is pretty and I hope helped to calm you. My geums aren’t out so it great to see yours. Have a calm week.
Such a kaleidoscope of weather would send me into a tizz for sure, however your arrangement is pretty and I hope constructing it helped to calm you down a little. My geums are not open yet, so it was a treat to see yours.
I think my Geums are regretting having flowered so early! Only 2°C at the moment.. and it’s mid-afternoon!
Oh I am so sorry your plans have been temprarily thwarted – you really have faced the brunt of April’s temperamental weather and I know just how frustrating it can be when a project is halted though circumstances beyond your control (I will finish repainting the pergolas one of these days!). I am in awe at the size of your borders – having the space for such depth is a huge asset and not something I have here. Hopefully things will change soon and you can get on and prepare it for all your new plants.
What pretty foliage your Spiraea has and it works perfectly with the geums and your little vase – thanks for sharing them all
The Spiraea is lovely for foliage… it turns green in summer and back to orange in autumn. The Geums are shivering…. 😜 I keep telling myself the new bed will all work out eventually!
Spiraea looks almost like autumn foliar color rather than spring. It suits the springy geum colors splendidly.
The Spiraea really does have pretty foliage. It will turn predominantly green soon and then back to orange in the autumn. The pink flowers are (fortunately) insignificant.
Gee, now that I think of it, colorful foliage such as this is my topic for the gardening column for next week. I needed to mention that Photinia (for example) is bronzed only while the foliage is new, but then fades to green.
I can fully appreciate your frustration with weather delays, Cathy! However, I’m sure your new garden area will be lovely upon completion and that delay will be but a fleeting memory. Meanwhile, your Geums brighten the day while you wait for the sun and warmer temperatures.
You are right Kris. I expect I will have forgotten how cold this week was when I am planting in a heatwave in June! LOL! That’s the way it goes….
You definitely do need to have lots of patience if you want to be a gardener and I appears that you have plenty. Your vase and flowers in the warm colors are perfect to help you forget about for your cold weather.
You are right – the warm colours in my vase are a perfect distraction. I am trying to look on the bright side. After all, at least it has stopped snowing! LOL!
Lovely vase. I definitely feel your pain as the weather is unstable here as well in April. But once you get that bed settled it will be a beautiful delight I am sure.
Yes, it will be wonderful by June, I am sure. 😃 Can’t wait to get back to work on it!
I love that spirea and the geum. You must be ready to get back out in the garden. A scented garden around a seating area sounds divine. How wonderful to have a tractor and an operator! Weather is such an annoyance.
Yes, weather seems to dictate everything I do from March to December! LOL!
Oh no – it’s always so frustrating when bad weather stops play Cathy. I hope that things improve soon and that you can get cracking. The geums and spirea are a perfect match for that vase together with the addition of those lovely pulsatilla seedheads. No flowers on my geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ yet but hopefully soon.
Thank you Anna. My Totally Tangerine has buds, but is clever enough to keep them tightly closed until it warms up again! I hope this cold spell won’t affect our butterfly population again this year.
April weather is so variable! Ours has delayed a few projects here as well. Lovely vase and I look forward to seeing your new garden bed take form. 🙂
I promised myself I would not get stressed about this project, so I am resigning myself to potting on lots of baby plants at the weekend. It may even have stopped snowing/raining by then!
Snow! We’ve woken to light frosts a few times in recent days – that was bad enough! Your new bed sounds fabulous! And patience…yes, patience is a gardener’s virtue 😁
That is what I keep telling myself. Patience is a virtue. I learnt patience when I was a teacher, so I am on the right track!😜
What a contrast between your wonderfully sunny vase and that dusting of snow! I hope the weather becomes better behaved for you soon. I will look forward to seeing you put in the new border. Fragrance is so important in a garden! And putting seating in amongst the fragrant border sounds marvelous.
I am looking forward to sitting in that new garden area in July, with the scent of lavender and perhaps even a rose wafting towards me! 😃
I have quite a few pots of cold sown perennials outside, those that have germinated so far have been battered with rain and then hail almost into submission. They are certainly going to be tough when they grow up!
I have some tiny seedlings in pots too, protected a bit by the cold frame on my patio. Yes, they should be tough plants once they start growing!
The tantrums would have been mine if I’d been faced with all that drama from the weather! Your new bed will worth all the hard work – and then you can relax in the new seating area and simply enjoy it…hopefully in warm sunshine. Once more, you’ve produced a beautiful vase, with perfect colour combinations.
Thanks Catherine. The forecast has improved and hopefully work will resume in a few days! 😃
I do like that reference to tantrums of weather. The vase arrangement with doily is lovely.
Thank you Flower. The weather has calmed down for now. 😃
Good luck with the work. I’m rather fed up with the rain, it’s seemed almost since before Christmas here in Wales.
Yes, it was a wet winter!
Wishing you a Happy Arbor week. Loved all your photos.
https://openyourhearttogardening.blogspot.com/
Thank you!
Oh, you have some big plans…how fun! I hope you’ll share the progress with us. 🙂 Sorry about the snow; hopefully that will be it for the season. Fingers crossed.
We are back to warm and dry thank goodness. Work is resuming….. 🐝
I‘m so sorry about the weather but it’ll only delay and not stop your exciting project. It’s been horrible most of the time here too and there’s no end in sight. Your vase is very pretty and cheers you up no doubt. Wishing you a nice weekend 😘
A bit late replying, but thank you Annette! Work will resume on the bed this week. 😃