In A Nutshell: Small Farms & Gardens
By Andrew Ray, May 2023

Early April was a bit gloomy for the gardeners in Spokane, but the spring sunshine is starting to come at the time that I’m writing this column. I’ve been getting out to work on these cloudy days, and have enjoyed the patches of sunshine that have been p eriodically breaking through.  My landscaping work this past month has been focused on spring cleanups.  It is very rewarding to get out the old, dead plant material from last year while watching the new growth slowly sprout up from the ground.

I love seeing the tiny bulbs that have been the first to bring flowers into our yards. Snowdrops, crocus, and others (I’m still learning). It amazes me how some of the first flowers I’ll see will be out on a trail in wilderness areas.  In town you can see the gardeners who are good with bulbs will have beautiful blooms in the sunny spots of their yards well before their neighbors. I stay patient knowing the bulbs I inherited in my yard will be blooming soon enough.

My crabapple tree has started to leaf out! The buds on my pear tree have swelled up, ready to break open at any time.  My walnut trees are in no hurry to start their growing season.  Its nice that they remain dormant longer than most other trees, it gives me more time to catch up on pruning the old orchard that I care for. My pruning work in this orchard has been focused on cleaning out the dead wood.  I look forward to getting up into their canopies with my saw within the next few weeks. 

This is a great time of year for planting trees and shrubs! Its so fun to just walk through the nurseries and garden centers to see all the beautiful plants. My current yard is full of plants already, so when I find a new favorite plant I have to hope I can find a client who has space.

I’ve also started on a few paver projects for people who are looking to create patio areas within their landscapes. Some are looking ahead to entertaining and feeding groups of people during the warmer months ahead.  Others are just looking for a relaxing spot in the shade to sit, read, and rest within the beauty of the plants around them.  

I’ve been doing some power raking to help the lawns perk back up from winter.  If you are unable to power rake, just hand raking the rough brown patches helps the grass tremendously.  Again, being able to rake out the old, dead plant material gives space and encouragement to the new grass that will be growing soon.  

Activity has picked up in my aviary between my pair of Lady Amherst’s pheasants.  These birds are completely quiet most of the year, but not now.  Richard has been vocalizing his loud and abrupt mating calls.  I’ve warned my neighbors and they don’t seem to be too annoyed yet.  I enjoy hearing from him now, within a month or so he’ll be quiet again.  Lady has been laying eggs! Hopefully she will lay about a dozen and then sit on them for about a month.  This will be her second spring trying to hatch an offspring. She was unsuccessful last year, but she really tried, so I’m hoping she will have better luck this season.

Certain weeds are popping up already.  I’ve just been pulling the worst ones for now, and hoeing the little ones as soon as they start.
May might be my favorite time of the year in Spokane.  An explosion of bright colors will come forth from the dull earth tones we’ve been looking at all winter. So many beautiful blooms to look forward to! Enjoy!