Time for Renewal!

I love springtime! I love all seasons and cannot say that I actually have a favorite but since it is springtime...I love it! The days of late have been spent doing some long-needed spring cleaning of the yard! Out with the old and in with the new is a good way to look at yard work. Rip out the old dead and withered plants, pull out all of the old mulch and rake up all the dead leaves! Once that is all finished, the "in with the new" can commence. I have been doing a lot of the "out with the old". It seems that since the winter was mild, we have an over-abundance of bugs. I have no problem with most insects but those fleas that have taken up residence in the rotted leaves and mulch have to go! I do not like fleas! My dogs do not like fleas! So to eliminate fleas, I am eliminating dead leaves and lots of rotted mulch.

I found a new camellia seedling while clearing away the rubble beneath the large tree!

While doing so much cleaning, I have come across some happy finds! One find was under the camellia bush. As I raked out all the old blossoms that had fallen from the bush, I was happy to discover a tiny, new camellia! Obviously, a seed from last year's blooms was fertile enough to sprout and grow into a sweet, little bush! This bush is there..mine for the taking! It shall be potted for the next few years and then transplanted to its permanent home when it is large enough to be seen from a distance! Then the lawnmower won't accidentally nip it in the bud, so to speak! (You know how those lawnmowers tend to chomp anything that gets in their way!) This little seedling camellia may or may not make lovely blooms. If, after the first blooming season, I am not happy with the quality of the blossom, I will merely graft it with stock from one of our better trees. I am just happy to find the little plant! It pays to keep a watchful eye whilst ridding the yard of unwanted gunk!

All of the kumquat seeds that I planted have sprouted!

Another happy find occurred a bit later on the other side of the house. There were more "babies"! In December, when Michael and I were making so much kumquat marmalade, I decided to plant all of the seeds. I did not think that many would germinate so I just made a short row of about six feet long and dumped the entire bowl of seeds in it. After covering them with several inches of dirt, I promptly forgot about them. Yesterday as I was out weeding the cucumbers, I spied some dark green plants between the garden fence and the fence to the dog run. Hmmmm...I needed to investigate! As I stepped closer, I realized just what this dark mass was....KUMQUATS! Hundreds upon hundreds of tiny kumquat seedlings were poking their leaves above the dirt! Oh, my goodness! Just what am I to do with that many kumquat bushes??? Michael will tell you that we already have far to many with just five bushes! He has to help pick the hundred pounds or so that those five trees produce each year! Perhaps I should not show him the row of seedlings just yet...maybe if I wait until mid-summer, he will have forgotten all about the picking!

Tiny oranges are already setting on the trees this spring!

Speaking of citrus fruits, the Satsuma trees are loaded! I have never seen so many blooms on an orange tree in my life! Last week, the yard smelled divine! Now, the tiny fruit can be seen as the blossoms are starting to drop. If we have a proper growing year, the three satsuma trees should produce a goodly amount of fruit. I will have to prop up the limbs to keep them from breaking or bending to the ground with the weight of the fruit. Those and the grapefruit trees have just outdone themselves with setting fruit. Bar a drought or hurricane, we will be well blessed with many citrus fruits this year!

Yep...a time for renewal! A time for rebirth! A time for regeneration! A time for a lot of work in the gardens! Oh, how I love springtime!