It’s finally, actually spring in Nashville. It was a long time coming, it snowed on the first day of spring, then proceeded to rain during all my time off, until it snowed again in mid April. Now that it has finally been warm and sunny, the garden is bursting and I feel like I have to cram a month of Sundays into two short weekends before spring will be over and summer upon us. I have mentioned before, I am a lazy gardener. As such, springtime chores are plentiful! The disarray of unfinished fall tasks make for a big job come spring.

Spring is a game. Seeking what survived the winter hidden under the leaves, weeds, and neglect of last year’s September. I peel it back carefully, layer by layer, always on the lookout for seedlings, volunteers from the last crop that bolted and went to seed before I could harvest it all.

I set up a work station in the center island where I planted lettuce last year. Two sorrel bushes have taken up permanent residence on the outskirts and onions that survived the winter frame the curve of the path. This is where I plan to plant some bush beans, for now it is a staging area with compost I made last year, dry brown leaves that I crunched up as I pulled them out from under the porch, and an ever growing mountain of wet, green weeds that I am pulling up as I work my way around the area.

I started with the most visible areas, set out new potted plants and finally brought the patio furniture back out. I usually get the entire garden weeded before I start planting, but since it feels like spring finally just started a week ago, I felt like I needed to get something, anything into the ground right away!

Sometimes, my garden feels like triage. Prioritizing based on urgency. I promised myself I would only buy as many plants as I could get in the ground same day. But, you get a price break if you buy a flat, and you can’t make a flat out of two different sized pots, so of course you have to buy two flats. So, I did not get everything planted on Sunday. Monday afternoon, I coaxed Chris into helping me a while. I told him it would be fun.

And he did have fun! To be fair, gardening is maybe the most enjoyable this time of year, when it’s not too hot, not too buggy, or muggy, and with the sun setting already we knew we wouldn’t be out there long enough to break a sweat. It also helped that I gave him the better job. You can’t really talk someone into helping you, touting how fun it will be and then make them pull up last years tomato stakes. You also can’t micro manage and watch over them the whole time. Do you want help or not?

So, triage priority #1: Plant the parsley and dill seedlings that were wilting despite being watered three times in two days.

This one went to Chris and I asked him to plant them anywhere he wanted, pointing out a few easy choices because they were in beds or pots I had already cleaned. He took a couple of suggestions for the dill and then opted to clean up an old hollow log where I usually plant lettuce.

He planted the parsley evenly spaced across the length of the log. It is visually appealing and not what I planned to do, so it made it even more fun.

Triage priority #2: Clean out the biggest and least accessible bed, where last year I put the early tomatoes. Weed the patch, amend the soil and start some sunflower and wildflower seeds. Because spring was so late, this felt urgent because I like to get seeds started much earlier in the season to give them time to grow before it gets crazy hot.

This job went to me because it was not going to be particularly fun. But it wasn’t bad, especially with Chris’ company.

Rosie alternated between pest patrol and supervising.

I hope to tackle the rest of the list before it becomes an emergency. Next up is planting the rest of what I already bought, starting with the nasturtiums. They have become my favorite flower over the past couple years and I am anxious to get their playful presence back in the garden! They have captured my heart so much that I have written about them before in my article about our favorite edible flowers.

How is your spring shaping up? Have any favorite plants to share that I should add to my garden this year? We love to hear from you! Please comment below.