Driftless Gardens

About Driftless Gardens

Spring arrives in the Driftless late and all at once — one week the limestone bluffs are gray, the next there are ferns in every seam and Dunning's Spring is loud with meltwater. Driftless Gardens takes up the season early in Decorah, cutting back beds, clearing winter litter from borders, mowing once the ground firms, and shaping the line where lawn meets planting. Working ground the glaciers skipped means shallow soil over rock in one yard and deep black loam in the next, and the work bends to whichever it finds. The first mow of the year is its own small event, the mower opening a clean stripe across a yard that has been asleep since November. By the time the bluff maples leaf out, the beds are crisp and the grass is standing up to meet the light.