Happy Easter!
March 30, 2026 - April 5, 2026
Weekly journal of a Midwest gardener, which includes pruning, spinstercore gardening, weeding, and celebrating Easter.
Monday, March 30, 2026
It’s just too bad we don’t think the flowers of dead nettle are as pretty as those of the ‘Lady Jane’ tulips, as both are flowering now in the Bird’s Blanket Border around the honeylocust tree. I spent time in the early morning carefully pulling out the dead nettle while trying not to step on the tulips. I also pruned back the few roses I have hard—as they say—and dug up dandelions.1 One of my neighbors walked by with her dog, and while chatting, I casually mentioned that I was going organic with my lawn.2 Then, in true Spinstercore Gardening fashion, I came inside mid-morning, cleaned myself up, enjoyed a hot cut of tea, then went out for lunch, etc.3
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
I almost got kicked out of the Spinstercore Gardening Club! Why? Because I did a lot of work in my garden in the morning, using power equipment. First, I cleaned up all the leaves that had blown onto the back patio (big leaf-sucking blower vac.)4 Then I proceeded to mow the front lawn (mower), edge all around (edger), and blow off the debris from the sidewalks and driveway (a different blower, not the same one I used in back). That’s four power tools! The reason I’m still in the club after all the work I did in a most un-spinster-like fashion is, of course, because I’m the club’s founder. No matter how hard I work in my garden, or how many power tools I use, I get to stay in the Spinstercore Gardening Club. And, I will make up new club rules accordingly so I can never be unceremoniously dumped from the club.5
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
What a tease of a day, and I don’t mean April Fool’s Day, though, as usual, I wrote a blog post with a bit of a tall tale. I’ve written one every year since ‘06 (aught six!). The actual tease of the day was clouds and winds and the threat of rain, but we got very little rain. I ran errands to get food and other items for Easter, then later watered all the houseplants and started pulling out Easter baskets and other holiday decor.6
Thursday, April 2, 2026
I’ve upped my weather watching game! As I write this, the outside temperature is 78.7ºF, humidity is 56%, winds are 6 MPH coming from the NE and the barometric temperature is 29.92 inHg. I know this because I installed a new home weather station this morning.7 I also dismantled my microgreens farm and gave it a good cleaning and set it aside for now. I needed the space where it normally sits for the big supper buffet for the World’s Greatest Family Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. Then I ordered more microgreen seeds for the varieties I like the most, which I had run out of.8
Friday, April 3, 2026
It was another warm day, but between running a few more errands and preparing for the World’s Greatest Family Easter Egg Hunt scheduled for Saturday afternoon, I did not have a chance to go out to the garden.9 In the afternoon, my sister texted me to ask about an organic dandelion killer spray she found at Costco, which is made with chelated iron. I was not familier with it, but after doing a bit of research, have decided to give it a try on some of my dandelions.10
Saturday, April 4, 2026
I found a four-leaf clover in my lawn, all on my own!11 But the really good news of the day was that it stopped raining long enough to have the World’s Greatest Family Easter Egg Hunt outside in the garden.12 A good time had by all. After everyone left, I scurried around to put the house back in order and then went to the Easter Vigil Mass. Yes, that Mass is at least two hours long, but it’s a beautiful way to end the season of Lent and begin the Easter season.
Sunday, April 5, 2026
Happy Easter. It was a much chillier day than yesterday but the sun came out later in the afternoon. I finished up a blog post to answer some questions about Spinstercore Gardening, the new gardening trend I’m trying to get started. I also thinned out the tomato seedlings which all germinated nicely, except for one variety. Was it due to old seed? Did I miss seeding that container? Who knows. I’ll drop some more seed in that spot. There’s still time. The peppers, of course, are lagging behind a bit, as expected. Outside, lettuce and mesclun are both coming up in two containers on the patio. I’ll be eating from the garden soon!
That’s a Week!
I came up with a theme for the month of April: A Personal Renewal In Life. Isn’t that what spring is all about? A renewal. A lighter step. A new direction. More light. New life.13 More gardening, too. A personal renewal in life. I shall ponder on that while out and about and in the garden this week.
Quotable
Earth’s saddest day and gladdest day were just three days apart! ~Sarah Chauncey Woolsey
See you next week!
With a shared love of gardening and reading,14
Carol
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The few roses I have took a beating between the winter weather and the up and down temperatures of early spring. We’ll see how they do, but honestly, the climbing roses I put in front aren’t the color I wanted so I may just dig them out, leaving the clematis vines that I planted next to them to grow up the supports. We’ll see.
I’m mentioning my organic approach to anyone who walks by while I’m out working in my garden, so they don’t freak out over the occasional dandelions and patches of clover and violets in the lawn. My neighbor seemed interested and asked what I’m using for fertilizer in my organic lawn. Currently, I’m trying out Elm Dirt’s products and have applied their solutions three times—summer, fall and late fall. I’m going to apply the spring solution after the big Easter Egg Hunt. My neighbor agreed that the herbicides we apply to our lawns to kill weeds are awful. Then she said she’d watch my lawn to see how it does. I forgot to remind her it won’t be perfect. But it will be safe for her dog and grandkids.
Part of the “etc.” on Monday was going to the greenhouse after lunch to buy snapdragons, sweet alyssum, and one more flat of violas.
Cleaning up all the leaves wasn’t actually the first thing I did in the garden on Tuesday morning. The first thing I did was pot up and plant out the snapdragons, sweet alyssum and violas I bought yesterday. Then later in the afternoon, I went back to the greenhouse for one more flat of violas, which I promptly potted up in a various containers, including three old pairs of garden clogs that I wore out, but can’t seem to part with.
While working in the gardening on Tuesday, I listened to a non-fiction book, How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries by David George Haskell. I finished it on Wednesday. Quite interesting!
I also published my latest Lost Ladies of Garden Writing article on Wednesday, this time about Ruth Shaw Ernst.
While working around the house preparing for Easter, installing the weather station, etc. I listened to Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World, by Joel Saladin, another non-fiction book.
I generally buy my microgreen seeds and supplies from True Leaf Market. After Easter, I’ll set up the microgreen farm again and keep growing microgreens, at least for a while, though I often stop for most of the summer.
I would have liked to have bottled up Friday’s weather to re-use Saturday afternoon because rain was predicted. The good thing about a possible rainout this year compared to last year is there are seven less people attending, so I am more confident that everyone will have a seat at a table to eat.
The actual organic weed control product is Sunday Dandelion Doom Lawn Weed Killer. Of course, I will not spray it on violets, only dandelions.
Another Family Easter Egg tradition is to hunt for four-leaf clovers in the lawn after all the eggs have been found. One of my great-nephews is already a legend in his young life for being able to easily find four-leaf clovers. Legend has it that he once spotted a four-leaf clover in a yard while riding by on his bicycle. When he started hunting in my yard a few years ago, I did not know how good he was at finding them and offered him, and all the other kids, five dollars for every four-leaf clover they found. He found two! It cost me ten dollars! Now I only pay one dollar for each one, but all the kids willingly search for them. This year, only my great-nephew found one, preserving his “legend” status. I’m pressing both clovers in my big six-inch thick dictionary.
The kids found all of the eggs, and then they hid three plastic eggs out in the garden for me to find when I’m out there digging around. A new tradition they started last year! They said they chose some eggs that will blend in the most so it may take me a while before I find them, and they mentioned they also put something inside each one. The hunt begins!
Speaking of new life, we spotted a black swallowtail butterfly hanging out in the garden during the Easter egg hunt. I don’t recall seeing one this early in years past.
On my Kindle, I’m reading Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp. I’m also reading the physical book, Spam Tomorrow by Verily Anderson.
What weather station did you get?
Happy Easter to you!