So, my plan for this upcoming weekend was to spread compost and till it under in the remaining Quad 4, and plant out EVERYTHING I have left (tomatoes, peppers, okra, beans, squash, etc.) but April has other ideas. Last weekend it rained for 2 days straight and filled up all the depressions in the yard with standing water and left everything a muddy mess. It was just starting to dry out when along came a torrential storm early this morning. Even though it only last a short while, all of the puddles are full again and there is a nice, swampy layer of water sitting on top of the ground as far as the eye can see.
I may still be able to plant the tomatoes and peppers because those rows are prepped and ready to go, but it's going to be a muddy affair. Maybe by early next week I can till? Ugh.
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Friday, April 23, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
April Flowers
The thing about springtime flowers is that you wait for months for them to arrive, and then when you blink, they're gone. I've been taking pictures of all the new floral arrivals, but even as of this posting, they've changed. Oh well.
This is the border along part of my front flower beds. It already looks very different from when this was taken because several of the daffs are gone and more orange/striped tulips are open. Joe likes to pick the "grapes" off of the muscari, so some of those are looking a bit weak these days.
It's not flower season around here without some bright geraniums. I had intended to overwinter last year's geraniums but got sidetracked and left them out for all the freezes...they didn't make it. These puppies are at least twice the size (I found an awesome nursery in town that has the best plants hands down) and I SWEAR I will overwinter them. However, the pictured plant I found split this morning, and I wonder if I'm having some kind of root borer problem. I saw the same thing happening with some seedlings in the veggie garden, so we'll see.
Do you see those sunny little faces flanking the blueberry bush?
My sister-in-law gave me some bulbs from her garden club in Virginia last November, and I didn't get around to putting them in the ground until January. I planted them in between the blues in the berry patch for something to look at while I wait impatiently for berries, and they came right up.
Isn't this a lovely sight? My pergola, the hubs building pea trellises beyond the gate, the unfinished gate (it's now finished and pretty impressive), and new wisteria plants. I really know nothing about wisteria other than it vines and is good to plant on pergolas and arbors. These have pretty purple flower clusters that are actually starting to bloom, but these pics are a week old, so bear with me.
And finally, our new apple trees are blooming and leafing out. I'm glad the last freeze didn't really seem to affect them, and the blossoms are so cute.
Come onnnnnn, apples!
This is the border along part of my front flower beds. It already looks very different from when this was taken because several of the daffs are gone and more orange/striped tulips are open. Joe likes to pick the "grapes" off of the muscari, so some of those are looking a bit weak these days.
It's not flower season around here without some bright geraniums. I had intended to overwinter last year's geraniums but got sidetracked and left them out for all the freezes...they didn't make it. These puppies are at least twice the size (I found an awesome nursery in town that has the best plants hands down) and I SWEAR I will overwinter them. However, the pictured plant I found split this morning, and I wonder if I'm having some kind of root borer problem. I saw the same thing happening with some seedlings in the veggie garden, so we'll see.
Do you see those sunny little faces flanking the blueberry bush?
My sister-in-law gave me some bulbs from her garden club in Virginia last November, and I didn't get around to putting them in the ground until January. I planted them in between the blues in the berry patch for something to look at while I wait impatiently for berries, and they came right up.
Isn't this a lovely sight? My pergola, the hubs building pea trellises beyond the gate, the unfinished gate (it's now finished and pretty impressive), and new wisteria plants. I really know nothing about wisteria other than it vines and is good to plant on pergolas and arbors. These have pretty purple flower clusters that are actually starting to bloom, but these pics are a week old, so bear with me.
And finally, our new apple trees are blooming and leafing out. I'm glad the last freeze didn't really seem to affect them, and the blossoms are so cute.
Come onnnnnn, apples!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
FINALLY
So remember that freak snow storm which proved that spring wasn't really here yet? Apparently, I should have seen it coming.
The first is mudswallows. We have a pair that live out the summer in our frony entryway, and they sit on the ledge of our front door and peek in on us all day. I saw them scoping out the nest several weeks ago, but they didn't stick around. I wondered why, and it seems like they knew about the blizzard via bird weather forecasting.
Well they are finally back:
Forgive the dirty window. It's too high for me to clean with any kind of regularity. When we first moved in we debated knocking down the nest but we quickly realized that there were babies in it, and that would have been REALLY bad karma. We were rewarded a few days later with a positive pregnancy test, so I will let these little guys hang out as much as they want. The nest is a little bald now, but in a month or so they will have built it up with grass and muddy spit.
The other sign of spring that I'd been waiting for was my daffodil bulbs. They flower buds just would NOT open...until the day after the blizzard. Wise blossoms? Maybe.
I'm a little sad that the daffodils I planted in the center flower bed 2 years ago didn't sprout this year. They looked great last year, so maybe the freakishly cold winter killed them? I don't know, but I am pleasently surprised by my hyacinth bulbs in that bed. Last year they were just a few inches tall, but this year they came back HUGE.
They're almost a foot tall. See the honey bee on the white one? They smell amazing.
Thank you, Spring. You were so missed.
The first is mudswallows. We have a pair that live out the summer in our frony entryway, and they sit on the ledge of our front door and peek in on us all day. I saw them scoping out the nest several weeks ago, but they didn't stick around. I wondered why, and it seems like they knew about the blizzard via bird weather forecasting.
Well they are finally back:
Forgive the dirty window. It's too high for me to clean with any kind of regularity. When we first moved in we debated knocking down the nest but we quickly realized that there were babies in it, and that would have been REALLY bad karma. We were rewarded a few days later with a positive pregnancy test, so I will let these little guys hang out as much as they want. The nest is a little bald now, but in a month or so they will have built it up with grass and muddy spit.
The other sign of spring that I'd been waiting for was my daffodil bulbs. They flower buds just would NOT open...until the day after the blizzard. Wise blossoms? Maybe.
I'm a little sad that the daffodils I planted in the center flower bed 2 years ago didn't sprout this year. They looked great last year, so maybe the freakishly cold winter killed them? I don't know, but I am pleasently surprised by my hyacinth bulbs in that bed. Last year they were just a few inches tall, but this year they came back HUGE.
They're almost a foot tall. See the honey bee on the white one? They smell amazing.
Thank you, Spring. You were so missed.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I Love Today
Though blustery, today is an amazing 70 degrees and brilliantly sunny. I know many of you are still dealing with snow and frigid temps, so either this post will warm the frozen cockles of your heart, or make you really mad. I had to grab my camera and snap pics of the awesomeness outside (I'm trying very hard to avoid overused phrasing like "spring has sprung!" or "the earth is waking up!" so bear with me).
First the veggies.
From top to bottom are Oregon Snow Pod II peas, popping up nicely; Little Gem Lettuce seedlings; and one of many broccoli starts in the milk jugs growing true leaves. It was hard to get a good shot of the lettuce because it is SO bright and sunny outside, and because I couldn't get very close because of the mud between the rows.
Next up is the fruit:
It was next to impossible to get a decent shot of the blueberry buds with the wind whipping the branches around. These are the "Powder Blue" bushes that were rescued from certain death in the clearance section of the local feed store last fall, and they almost seem so grateful for the second chance at life that they are outpacing the "Misty Blue" bushes to bud.
Next are the flower buds:
These are buds on my little leaning pear tree. He may be slanted, but he's pretty.
These are buds on my beloved peach tree. It was worth braving the biting ice storm all day to break ice off of her.
And finally, the obligatory crocus shots, first blooms of spring:
Last year I didn't take any pictures of the crocus because I was waiting for all of the bulbing flowers to bloom, but they fizzled out before the tulips, etc. really got going. You can also see the pansies in the long shot, which came back despite being literally pansy-popsicles covered in several inches of ice. I deadheaded them last week and have been rewarded with big new blooms.
And lastly, the little human:
Mud. It does a baby good.
* I must take a moment to thank my husband once again for replacing our old craptastic camera this Christmas. I could have never gotten the bud shots with that old piece of junk. Good camera = good blog.
First the veggies.
From top to bottom are Oregon Snow Pod II peas, popping up nicely; Little Gem Lettuce seedlings; and one of many broccoli starts in the milk jugs growing true leaves. It was hard to get a good shot of the lettuce because it is SO bright and sunny outside, and because I couldn't get very close because of the mud between the rows.
Next up is the fruit:
It was next to impossible to get a decent shot of the blueberry buds with the wind whipping the branches around. These are the "Powder Blue" bushes that were rescued from certain death in the clearance section of the local feed store last fall, and they almost seem so grateful for the second chance at life that they are outpacing the "Misty Blue" bushes to bud.
Next are the flower buds:
These are buds on my little leaning pear tree. He may be slanted, but he's pretty.
These are buds on my beloved peach tree. It was worth braving the biting ice storm all day to break ice off of her.
And finally, the obligatory crocus shots, first blooms of spring:
Last year I didn't take any pictures of the crocus because I was waiting for all of the bulbing flowers to bloom, but they fizzled out before the tulips, etc. really got going. You can also see the pansies in the long shot, which came back despite being literally pansy-popsicles covered in several inches of ice. I deadheaded them last week and have been rewarded with big new blooms.
And lastly, the little human:
Mud. It does a baby good.
* I must take a moment to thank my husband once again for replacing our old craptastic camera this Christmas. I could have never gotten the bud shots with that old piece of junk. Good camera = good blog.
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