It’s that time of the year where I can get out in the garden and tackle the massive number of spring chores that await. One of my favorite chores (if there is such a thing) is cleaning up the Lenten Rose area – it’s like finding fairy treasures underneath the mess. Brown and battered from the winter, late February is the time to trim off the outer ring of leaves and any others that look sad, allowing for air circulation and dabbles of sunshine to reach the blooms that set last fall. This happens in several steps in my garden – day one I typically clear away the leaf litter and trim the leaves, day two I may get out the shopvac and dig a bit deeper into the accumluated leaf mess, and day three is the final trim. Not long after that, they show their colors – in the garden here, the first flowers to do so, typically even before the crocus!
Lenten Roses are not roses at all, but in the buttercup family. Their name seems to have come from the fact the blooms resemble some roses, as well as the fact they flower around the time of Lent. The flowers are long lasting and mature plants can have up to 50 flowers per plant. They do best in filtered to partial sun (although mine get quite a bit of shade) and are easy to care for, with few diseases and insects to bug them. The leaves and seeds do contain alkaloids that can irritate sensitive skin, so wear gloves when working with them.
