In Good Thyme - by Mariana Graham

It's early March and there are plenty of bone-chilling, gray days ahead, but those of us born with the gardening gene are feeling the sap rise. We can smell the green before we see it. We've noticed that birds are flirting and flitting, serenading each other in preparation for nesting season. Our trowel fingers are itching. The recent spate of spring-like weather has triggered an early epidemic of Plant Lust. We recognize each other, surreptitiously prowling the muddy aisles of nurseries, longing for more than the usual early-season primulas and pansies, the starkness of bare-root bushes. Patience is a difficult virtue for gardeners at this time of year. We yearn for fragrant sprays of lilac, big, sumptuous lilies; the pungent incense of tomato leaves basking in sunlight. Still, the gentle camellias are now in bloom. Crocus is sprinkling pastel confetti across the lawn; heaths, heathers and hellebores are putting on a show. Many gardeners have started seedlings indoors or in greenhouses and cold frames. Others are pruning their roses and planting new ones.

In the maritime Northwest, mid March is the time to gently awaken roses from their winter sleep. They may be pruned to a height of six to 18 inches to encourage new growth and abundant flowering. Old roses, climbers and English roses shouldn't be cut back as severely. Just give them a light shaping and remove dead or damaged canes. Remove the protective organic mulch you mounded around the canes last fall. You can dig it into the soil, combined with a LIGHT application of a mild organic fertilizer such as alfalfa meal. Save the serious fertilization until April. If the weather forecast calls for a late season Arctic blast, however, be prepared to pile more mulch around the canes until the cold danger has passed.

One of the loveliest of our native deciduous shrubs is the flowering currant, Ribes sanguineum. Its pendulous clusters of bright pink to red flowers will be blooming in a few weeks. In some of the warmer microclimates of Whidbey Island, they may already be in bloom. Ribes grows from six to eight feet tall and prefers a sunny location and well-drained soil. Soil that is too moist (or over watered) can cause root rot. Following bloom, Ribes produces clusters of bluish berries. While they are edible, most humans find them too sour. Birds, however, think they're delectable. Hummingbirds and butterflies are attracted to the flowers.
In the wild, you'll find the flowering currant growing at the sunny edges of woodlands. Nineteenth Century botanist David Douglas (of Douglas Fir fame) introduced the species to England in 1826. Enthusiastic British horticulturists couldn't leave well enough alone, and have produced some pretty new varieties in every shade of pink, red, and white, now available in most nurseries as bare root plants.

Another sure sign of spring is the annual opening of Greenbank's Meerkerk Rhododendron Gardens. On Saturday and Sunday, March 17 and 18, Meerkerk will hold its Spring Plant Sale. The gates will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days. A wide selection of rhododendrons and companion plants will be offered for sale. Not only will you be able to purchase choice rhodies, but you can welcome springtime beneath bowers of cherry blossoms in Whidbey Island's peaceful woodland garden. The magnolias should be in bloom, too, as you stroll among drifts of fragrant daffodils and early blooming rhododendrons. There is no admission fee for this rite of spring, but donations will be gratefully accepted. Meerkerk garden tour reservations are being accepted for spring 2001. The cost is $5 per person, which includes the regular $3 admission fee. Minimum group size is 10 and two weeks advance registration is required. A two-hour horticultural tour led by Garden Manager Kristi O'Donnell is also available by reservation. The $25 per person fee includes a booklet on the care of rhododendrons. You may make reservations for either tour by leaving a message at (360) 678-1912 or by e-mail to meerkerk@whidbey.net.
Mariana Graham is a WSU-Island County Master Gardener and a member of the Garden Writers Association of America. Send her your garden questions, hints or comments via the Whidbey News Times, 675-6611; fax 675-2732 or wnt@whidbey.net.

Garden questions or comments? Call 675-6611; fax 675-2732, or wnt@whidbey.net. Mariana Graham is an Island County Master Gardener and member, Garden Writers Association of America.

MASTER GARDENER CLINICS (click on picture)
Master Gardener plant clinics are being held at various Island locations throughout the summer. On the North end, bring questions and plant samples to The Greenhouse Nursery each Saturday in July from 9 a.m. to noon, Cenex on Aug. 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or the Navy Exchange Garden Shop June 30th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In Central Whidbey, it's at the Coupeville Farmers Market each Saturday through the end of July from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. South end clinics include Freeland Ace Hardware from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 23, July 28, Aug. 25 and Sept. 22. You can also find Master Gardeners at South Whidbey Tilth on July 7, Aug. 4, and Sept. 1 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Clinics are held at Bayview Farm and Garden June 30th, July 7, 14, 21, 28; Aug. 4, 11, 18 and 25. Clinics may be scheduled at other locations when volunteers and resource materials are available. 'Can't make it to a plant clinic? Call the Master Gardener hotline (360) 679-7327 each Monday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through the end of September.