Tuesday
I'll have to circle back to the things on the planned to do list that I didn't get done yesterday. I started and ended with potting up the bare root strawberries, and that was about it.
I had left the bags of potting soil outside so they were wet and heavy - too heavy to simply lift and dump in the Greenstalk tiers. I had to transfer the soil one scoop at a time until each bag was 2/3 empty and then I could lift and dump the rest. Each tier takes a full bag, so very time consuming for four tiers. I was surprised at how achy my arms got too while doing it, but then again, why am I surprised - everything physical wears me down pretty fast these days.
As far as the strawberry bare roots, the initial unpacking of the boxes had me skeptical. They were small and completely stuck together. After soaking for an hour or so, at least they were easy to then separate. I planted one per planter pocket and boy do they look miniscule in there. After the 6 pockets, there were still 4 left of each variety. At first I just stuck all 4 in a single gallon nursery pot, then thought better of it and put each one in its own smaller nursery pot. Anyway, that little project is done. Now it is wait and see if those bare roots amount to anything.
Halfway through the strawberry planting project, I took a break from it and placed the remaining hellebores from the Black Creek Greenhouse run. Three will go in the Gazebo Garden and seven will go in the Cherry Tree Nook. These are all pink tones - Ice 'N Roses 'Rosado', Ice 'N Roses 'Carlotta', Honeymoon 'French Kiss', and Wedding Party 'True Love'. I have one left - the white 'Mont Blanc' that will go in the Lemon Garden. All placed, but not yet planted.
I also did my routine daily walk about. The flowering almonds that I purchased last year are starting to bloom. Prior to this I've only seen catalog pictures or member photos so I'm excited to see them first hand. Most of the perennials are starting to emerge. This is such a thrilling time in the gardening season. It always brings me such joy to see what has made it through the winter, and it is like greeting old friends.
From the weather forecast, it looks like we'll have another day like yesterday - high in the low 50s and sunny. Rain is predicted to come back on Wednesday and Thursday so I want to make the most of outside work. First on the agenda today is to plant the new groundcover and hellebores. If I have any time or energy left after that, I'll circle back to the Front Steps Bed. I started that cleanup weeks ago and haven't gotten back to finish it, despite numerous plans to do so 
I still need to repot the waterlily, but I can do that in the greenhouse during a rain day.
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