April...hath put a spirit of youth in everything. William Shakespeare
I hope.
Here in New England, we experienced a preview of spring in February, then a retreat and return to winter in March. As I write, a blizzard is upon us. April can be the cruelest month, but there will be days suitable to be out in the garden. It is well advised to stay off of muddy soil so that it doesn’t become compacted, but when the garden is finally uncovered and the weather is fine, I carefully get out and plant anyway. I stay on the path and lightly rake the soil.
In the vegetable garden, seeds of early greens are the first to plant. Spinach, lettuce, kale, and others can withstand the late frost. Many nurseries now sell started greens that are always tempting to plant and have a jump start on production. I have often succumbed and brought home a six-pack or two. They always disappoint. These seedlings are stressed from growing in small pots, and then are shocked by transplanting. Their response is to become bitter and to bolt early. Directly sowing seeds is best for healthy and abundant plants. A packet of seed will cost as much as a pack of seedlings and will produce many more plants. You can plant small amounts over the duration of the season to produce a continual supply of greens. Take the advice of Thomas Jefferson: “A thimbleful of lettuce should be sowed every Monday morning, from February first to September first.” Of course February is too early for New England, but successive planting ensures a continual supply of lettuce, or arugula, spinach, or chard.
Many of the leafy greens are beautiful as well as delicious. The colors and textures of the leaves planted with annual flowers can make the vegetable garden a place of beauty. Chard seed can be bought as a rainbow mixture or as single colors. Green leaves with veins of orange, pink, magenta, or even white are stunning. This season I will plant ‘Orange Fantasia’ chard around a group of lime green ‘Envy’ zinnias.
Lettuce can be beautiful. ‘Black-seeded Simpson’ is a clear light green. ‘Freckles’ or ‘Flashy Troutback’ are striking in the garden and the salad bowl. ‘Bronze Beauty Oakleaf’ or ‘Midnight Ruffles Looseleaf’ paired with orange nasturtiums are impressive. Even iceberg lettuce has a handsome strain called ‘Red Glacier’.
Eat more kale; ergo; plant more kale. Dinosaur, or laminate kale, has phenomenal gray blue leaves which I paired with white snapdragons last year. I saw a planting in Brooklyn of this kale and powder blue ageratum that had inspired me. ‘Winterbur’ and ‘Red Russian’ are elegant and nutritious, and they would be complemented by low growing marigolds, nicotiana, or nigella.
There is a beet variety with the gruesome name ‘Bull’s Blood’. The leaves mature from green to an obvious blood-red. Surround it with purple allysum or orange marigolds. Mustard greens called ‘Ruby and Emerald Streaks’ and roach, also known as mountain spinach would be stunning with tall red dianthus. Even plain green arugula bordered with white allyssum would be more pleasing than when planted alone.
Annual flowers grown among vegetable plants make the the production garden a more pleasant and inviting spot. I grow rows of sweet peas, self sowed poppies, and climbing flowering vines with my tomatoes, peppers and onions. The flowers attract bees and hummingbirds to aid in pollination and to please me.
“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.” Rainer Maria Rilke
“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.” Margaret Atwood
April 2017