Our lilacs are gorgeously productive this year, with flower trusses in all shades of lilac and purple and white. The flowers almost hide the new green leaves on the towering front-yard bush which was one of the reasons we bought this house, coming up on 20 years ago now. And the masses of dark-purple irises (don’t know the proper name; I call them ‘Auburndales’ because that’s where I thinned out the overcrowded patch next to the rental duplex and ended up with a handful of leftover root crowns which have multiplied relentlessly ever since) are in glorious competition. Usually the irises come up either well before or just after the lilacs bloom, so this is a bonus season.
Also growing very vigorously is what’s left of the lawn; it’s approaching knee-deep now, and if the local weatherpersons are correct it might actually be dry enough tomorrow to commit the first mowing of the year. Does anyone have any advice / recommendations on reel mowers? Our current model is electric, and I can just about manage to haul it around, but I’d really like something lighter even if it meant more “work” pushing it…
What’s your gardens looking like, this week?
Peter
It’s looking really good. Almost all planted, and the early stuff is up and getting eaten (salad and radishes).
I’m making lilac ice cream this weekend. You should try it; it’s heavenly.
fhtagn
Is our children learning?
And the gardens are divine. The new pergola is particularly fine, while Stuck’s Folly is to die for.
Vixen Strangely
In a word–unfurled. My fig-trees are already sporting little green grape-sized figs, my grapevines have little pin-head bundles of grapishness, and we’ve planted a whole two tomato plants–so far. My pinapple sage did not survive the winter, but my rosemary is coming back and I think the mint might be too. I think ambitiously about putting pavers down to have lots of room for my container garden–maybe this will be the year (she says, for seventh year in a row.)
johnsmith1882
Advice on a reel mower: buy a real mower. It’s not more “work” with a reel mower, it’s more work (no quotation marks). And the yard is looking great, thanks for asking. Been tilling the bad spots by hand, tossing seed, putting out black dirt. Six bags of black dirt so far, the first batch of tilled area looking good, green shoots in the next batch, we’ll see what happens with the rest. Hydrangias, liilies, etc., all springing up.
Poopyman
Well, it’s not a reel mower, but a reel mower isn’t going to handle knee-high grass anyway. You might want to start out with this.
Our lilacs suck this year because I sucked at pruning them last year. As in — I didn’t prune. Lesson learned.
MikeJ
@Poopyman: Perhaps while swinging that you should wear this.
My cherry tree is now in bloom, as are the rhodies.
Tom
Crap.
Thanks for asking.
kdaug
@johnsmith1882:
Seconded. We got one when we were young and stupid, thinking it was the “green” thing to do.
Bottom line – you’ll spend 3x the effort and 5x the time, literally.
Unless you clean your clothes on a washing board down by the river with lye soap, go with the technology on this one.
Dollared
Thirded. The battery operated Black and Decker mower works reasonably well.
kdaug
@MikeJ: And chant. Don’t forget the chants.
waldenpond
My front yard re-do is finally done. Got the last of the steps and bricks dug in at the end of April. The beds are planted and seeded. Added squash to the front strip. Have begun harvesting kale and spinach.
No lawn…. so no idea on what mower to use.
Jane2
@Dollared: Thanks for the rec….I was just looking tonight and wondering what model to buy.
jane from hell
Grass is so overrated. My goal is not to have any, and keep an electric weedeater for tidying up the as-yet untamed areas. Of course, I live in a postage stamp sized parcel.
PeggyAI
Adding my 2 cents to the reel mower comments: unless you can sharpen the blade yourself, don’t buy one. They work great the first time but after that, not only is it harder, you may find that you are bending the blades of grass rather than cutting them. That was my experience, anyway.
Gretchen
My lilacs have been over for a couple of weeks. The roses and peonies are just about to burst into bloom. I had tomatoes in wall-o-waters but pulled them off yesterday because the temperature was in the 90’s and I was afraid they’d cook.
@poopyman – how much are you supposed to prune lilacs?
Yutsano
@MikeJ:
Dear Allah the rhodies are beautiful everywhere this year.
ruemara
Bleeding May and my spinach is bolting because NorCal weather is KARAZY! Had to use Sevin Dust for the first time to try to have some melon and cucumber plants survive. I am pleased to report that the second wave of cuke starts have put out those all important 2nd tier of leaves and the tomatillo that was near eaten in half by some monster slug is hanging in there. The squash are blooming, the basil are failing, the tomatoes are blooming; it’s a veritable symphony of garden veg. I’m considering creating a tiered strawberry area and my first berries are fruiting. Rather happy, i say.
Joey Maloney
Y’all have got to head over to TPM and click through to read the Senate Ethics Committee Special Counsel’s report on John Ensign. No matter how big of a scumbag you think he is…he’s bigger. Seriously, the report makes it plain he’s one of those people who is so self-absorbed and so untroubled by conscience or ethics that he just spends his life cutting a swath through others’.
debbie
I’m not a gardener, but I enjoy my neighborhood’s efforts. In Ohio, despite all the rain which ruined the flowering trees, the azaleas have been absolutely spectacular.
BD of MN
I bought a reel mower a couple of years ago, used it maybe three times. My yard has many pine trees and a giant willow, so I always have lots of small sticks all over the lawn, which jam up the reel mower mercilessly. Too bad you don’t live in MN, I could give you mine…
We’re having a late spring, Tulips are still blooming, the big crop of Lilies of the Valley grew about 6″ in the past three days, and my hops are almost two feet tall, meaning I really have to get the new trellis up this weekend…
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
It is a great year for rhodies and azaleas. My columbines are beginning to set seed, and half of my other perennials had a lawn care tragedy in April, but I’m working things back into the bed slowly as budget permits or when i get seedling gifts. Sigh.
As to the mower issue, I *love* reel mowers, BUT, the sharpening is an issue. Even 20 years ago, it was tough to find a place to get them sharpened, and now it’s just this side of impossible. So I’ll fourth or fifth the recommendation away from them. Even though I love the look of grass shorn with a sharp reel, an acoustic mower isn’t terribly useful in this day and age. If you can keep it properly sharpened, and mow often enough tat the grass isn’t too long to cut with one, it can be a useful accessory. But it will not work as a primary mower.
p.a.
I got about 5 years at full power from my B&D 24v battery mower; it’s been declining the last 2 years. I popped the cover hoping to find easily-replaceable motorcycle batteries, but it is some kind of customized type, hard to access- looks like I need to take the thing apart to get it out. So, $450 investment, 7 years service, I can live with that. If Anne is complaining about the weight of an electric, I don’
t recommend battery. Mine is 75 lbs.
Check CR for push mowers. I think Fiskars makes a model. Previous comment about a stick-strewn yard and push mowers is correct. You’ll want to throw it out within the first 30 mins.
I believe it was only last week, in relation to zipcar, that Atrios was talking about the foolishness of everyone owning a mower. If you live in close proximity to others, maybe you can work out a share arrangement? You may start a movement!
gelfling545
@PeggyAI: actually, I have found out, not terribly hard to sharpen a reel mower. Loads of instructions on line like here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABLKMt_QyOE
Rook
The only problem with today’s reel mowers is that they do not work well on long grass. Miss a week, and you’ll end up having to double or triple pass on the lawn.
gelfling545
I have had a pretty basic Scott’s reel mower for a few years now & am satisfied with it. With the manual mower I actually enjoy mowing whereas back when I had a gas mower I loathed it. If you have a large amount of grass you might want to keep the gas mower for the first cut of the year & use the reel the rest of the time.
Nick
I just bought a Scott’s 20 inch reel mower and it works great for my small city yard (Chicago).
cintibud
I’m a lazy gardener, letting my beds get overrun with a weed. However since the weed is larkspur, they will look fantastic in June. I’ll weed in mid to late July, after shaking out the seeds of course so I can go through this again next year. Has worked very well for the last 4 years.
Svensker
Just weeded our first garden in Toronto in hopes of getting some dirt and flowers in over the weekend. Postage stamp-size town front garden but I’m excited. Any Torontonians here with any experience with nasturtiums? Will they grow here? They have nastursh at the garden store and I’d love to try them — NJ was too hot for them so I worry about Toronto, since the weather is quite similar. One of my favorite flowers.
The pink tulip trees (magnolia?) are blooming and daffs and tulips are gorgeous. Delayed Spring here and everything is busting out at once.
p.a.
There is a small lot beyond my fence (not my property) with some scrub oaks and other wild tree growth, and oriental bittersweet everywhere. I finally got fed up with bittersweet sprouts in my lawn and went back there with a machete and hacked the vines growing on the tree that was beginning to overhang my property. Bad comes with good, however. The bittersweet provided excellent cover for birds when it bloomed; that tree was almost like a bird condo with mocker, catbird, cardinal and robin nests closer together than I think probable otherwise. Oh well…
chuckdps
quit hating on the reel mowers!
Silent Scott’s are the best reel mowers. I found one on craigslist for $30. It is self-sharpening. Reel mowers aren’t great with high grass, or sticks, but they don’t burn dinosaur bones or make lots of noise.
inthesouthnow
Yet another of my gas mowers died this week. Looked into getting a CARB certified one, but too difficult to get here in North Carolina. Kept running into great reviews for the Fiskars Momentum – a reel mower. I live on a 1/3 acre lot and have a lot of grass (yuck). I bought the Fiskars mower yesterday and used it on my overgrown yard. It worked really good! It doesn’t get tall weeds, but I knew that going in. It’s really not hard to push and it gives me just as good a workout as my old push gas mower. It says it stays sharp for eight years. Given all the maintenance my gas mower needed I’m glad to give that up. Fiskars Momentum, $199 at Lowe’s.
twiffer
my experience with a reel mower is that, if you lawn is already in good shape, they work nicely. but, if your grass is too high, or you have crabgrass, it just sort of bent the grass blades over.
Julie
I have a reel mower made by the American Lawn Mower Company that I bought in 1998. I have never sharpened it (probably should, though) and use it to mow the bermuda grass out back. For me, it’s no harder to push than a non-self-propelled gas mower.
Pros: It mulches the clippings, so no raking. You can’t scalp the lawn or make lines in it, it looks nice and smooth right away. No noise, smoke, or going to the gas station.
Cons: Hard to cut tall grass, you need to mow regularly. Sticks get stuck in it, but this isn’t usually a problem for me unless I prune the shrubs and let my dogs drag the sticks everywhere. Doesn’t work so well on soft, floppy weeds, just knocks them down, but I don’t have a lot of weeds so that’s ok. Neighbors/passing motorists stop and stare and offer to let you borrow their mowers/mow for you–which is why I mow the back and my husband mows out front with his gas mower.
opie_jeanne
Sorry I missed this thread until now. My lilacs got snapped a couple of weeks ago so some are not going to have any flowers. Also, I didn’t know about pruning them. Will do so this fall when it’s time.
We put in the strawberries today, but everything else is growing very slowly.
opie_jeanne
So, we have 9 tomato plants, maybe more to come, 4 peppers, 20 strawberry plants, and seedlings of lettuce, onions, carrots, beets and cabbage. Planted potatoes in the 4th raised bed last weekend. We will be working on the weeds, getting this place under control, for a very long time. It’s just under an acre and really needed grooming. The tulips are still in bloom, the huge cherry tree is snowing on us while we work on the raised beds. We have built 4 so far, 4 x 5, and will continue to add them until we run out of dirt in the “compost heap”. The previous owner threw everything on a raised garden bed, trash, old plants, leaves, twigs and freakin’ big branches. It’s mounded up more than two feet above the bed in some places and covered with weeds. Our favorite weeds are the forget-me-nots, our not so favorite are the buttercups and dandelions. We have a huge garden border of yellow dandelions. Looks great until you get up close.