We’ve had a series of beautiful days but I must confess, as a gardener, I’m a bit worried about the lack of rain. I heard on local news this week that the North Shore area and Lynn Woods Reservation was experiencing some wildfires. That should be alarming for everyone.

Another drawback is the remarkable amount of pollen. Cars and all outdoor surfaces are covered in it, not to mention the lungs.

As a follow-up to last week’s disrespecting of hydrangeas, I’ve been looking closely at them. The buds on the sticks look wizened and dead. I think the flash freeze we had in late winter may have sealed their fate.

Basically, we had a very mild winter except for just a few days. Sigh! I’m taking matters into my own hands and cutting to the new growth.

If they are the old-fashioned hydrangea varieties such as Nikko Blue or lace cap, which bloom on old growth, they may not bloom this year.

The newer types like endless summer bloom on new growth, so they may be a better choice for new gardens.

You may have noticed the mixed shrub border may have hundreds of seedlings. They are most likely from Rose of Sharon. I’ve been weeding them out by the bushelful.

There is nothing more fascinating than a seed — the very potential of life. I heard viable lotus seeds were found in Japan that were more than a thousand years old. Imagine that!

Speaking of seeds, I planted squashes, pumpkins and cucumbers in large plug trays in my not-secure-against-varmints greenhouse. Rats and/or mice ate every last one. This is what happens after the death of an elderly but reliable barn cat.

Back to shrub borders, briefly. You will be very happy with a purchase of a couple of spring-blooming viburnum. Some examples are: viburnum opulus, viburnum carlcephalum and viburnum shasta. These all have pure white wonderful large blooms.

I’m not a big fan of rosa rugosa. They belong at the beach. Most people who do have them on the property do not take care of them and I don’t blame them. They are a tangled, thorny mess. I have found cutting to the ground in late fall revitalizes them and they actually look good.

The vegetable garden is coming right along. So far I’ve been untroubled by pests except the annual influx of flea beetles on my collards. Luckily I saved a bucket of ash from the woodstove. Hopefully, a liberal sprinkle will deter them.

Regardless of morality questions on the abortion issue, I’d like to remind people of our late Congressman, Gerry Studds. He said, “When you give a government the power to say you cannot have an abortion how long before that same government can say you must have one, to wit: China’s one-child policy.”

On a local level, how many times must we fix the drawbridge? Didn’t we do it just a few years back? My son Jeremiah pointed out that it only took two years in the 1930s to build the Bourne Bridge.