Getting to it

Dividing rhubarb

I once read that one of Rosemary Verey's favorite phrases was "Get to it." Being a master procrastinator, I'm generally pretty bad about getting things done, but since we just got our first break from the rain in two or three weeks, I finally got started on a long-overdue task: dividing the rhubarb.

The rhubarb came with the house-- planted, presumably, by the previous occupants. There are two large clumps of it, and while they shoot up vigorously in the spring, they've never really produced very well. The stalks are mostly spindly, and we never seem to get more than four or five of them per crown. I've been meaning to divide the clumps since the first summer we lived here, but every year, it gets put off, undoubtedly because early spring up in our parts is almost always rainy and cold.

Today, I tackled the first of the two clumps, dividing it into four smaller clumps. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but the heart of the plant turned out to be a giant, solid mass of root. I'd meddled around the base of the plant before, and had come across more conventional-looking roots... thick, fleshy, but definitely recognizable as roots. As it turns out, beneath the center of the plant, it's one big congealed knot, and in the case of this plant, that knot was nearly a foot-and-a-half around. That was not what I was expecting at all, so I cleaved it down the center with a shovel. I hope it all works out.

Other things I've gotten down to this past week:

• I pruned the grapes, lavender, and lavatera, and have started working on the roses. I'm a little behind schedule on all of this, but since I'm always late, every year, and the plants have never seemed to mind, I think it'll be okay. Husband helped with the grapes, and as usual worried that I was pruning too hard. He says the same thing about the lavatera, his favorite flowering plant, which he's convinced I'm trying to kill. The lavatera, by the way, is a cultivar known as "Barnsley," which was first cultivated by... guess who? Rosemary Verey, at her famous Barnsley House garden.
  
  
• I have started potting up some of my dahlia rubers to give them an early start on the season. I'm happy to report that no further tubers have rotted since January's tragedy, although a couple seem to have dried out, including some of my divisions of 'Pam Howden.' Luckily, this year's local dahlia society tuber sale falls on a Sunday, rather than a Saturday, so I should be able to recover the loss. I nearly danced around my cubicle at work when I discovered this fact, which may give you some idea of how obsessed I am with my dahlias. I still have no idea where I'm going to plant them all... have I mentioned that I also ordered about ten plants to be delivered in April? *headsmack*
  
  
• My garden auricula is starting to bud, which prompted me to head to the nursery to see if they had any different colors in stock yet. Sadly, they didn't, but that didn't stop me from browsing. I came away with some purple Calibrachoa (million bells) for hanging baskets and... wait for it... more frakking dahlia tubers!
  
  
• I transplanted my tomatoes to larger containers and started more tomatoes in seed cells, as well as basil and okra. This week, I'm planning to start some lettuce and transplant the cabbage and pac choi to larger pots. I've been watering my seedlings with diluted fish emulsion this year; it's not as odorless as the bottle claims, but if it gets me healthier seedlings, I can live with it. Although I suspect that the cats may be drinking from the drip trays.
  
  
• Blogwatch: Gayla at You Grow Girl has written a couple of excellent posts on the subject of seed-starting. Mr. Brown Thumb has been recording the process of saving Amaryllis / Hippeastrum seeds. This intrigues me because although I can't get my existing Amaryllis to rebloom, I've been thinking of taking up Hippeastrum as a hobby, following in the footsteps of George Washington Carver, who was apparently an enthusiast.

I can't believe how late it is now. I hate to rush a post, but it's time for me to hit the sack. I'll bang my head over typos in the morning. For now, I leave you with my favorite find from the garden today:



Take care, all!

---
Cross-posted to Vox