I'll soon be moving to a new home, which calls for a first things first approach. It being spring, special plants got early bird tickets. The chosen few for the first load included a fabulously vigorous pink Knock Out rose, a clumps of Party Girl Japanese anemone, and steadfast Evergreen Bunching onions, among other things.
Moving plants in cloth-lined laundry baskets is a trick I learned from my native plant rescue group. Even when the baskets are heavy with rescued lady's slippers or wild ginger, you can drag them down a mountainside. These guys are in the ground now, so I'm back for herbs, more perennials, and as many special stones as my shock absorbers can handle.
It's been a long wait, but the freesia corms I planted in October are finally in bloom. It's been years since I last grew freesias, and the fragrance is as lovely as I remembered - sweet and light, a hint of lilac puffed with vanilla, without the muskiness of paperwhites or hyacinths.
The plants' foliage is determined to flop over despite gentle support, but this problem is easily sidestepped by cutting the stems when the first flowers open and enjoying them in a vase. When the cut stem end is sealed by passing it through a candle flame a few times, the next two or three flowers open as willingly as they would if they were still on the plant.
