Gardens update

Well, things are definitely happening outdoors here!  :-)

The spinach, lettuce, beets, chard, peas and kale are growing well.  I let the asparagus go to seed again this year without harvesting (though I was very tempted), I will add soil to the bed and plan to harvest next year.  We are moving around the front "cold bed" to the side of the house and will fill that with flowers and bushes - to make room for the deck that we hope to build this year!

We are increasing our fruit trees.  We now have 2 apple, 2 peach, 2 fig, 2 kiwi, 75+ strawberry, 3 blueberry, 3 domestic blackberry, and a thriving rhubarb which I have already harvested 2 quarts from.  We plan to add 2 pear trees to the "orchard" this year.  I am very excited about these additions.  :-)

I am sad to report that I pretty much killed all our little seedlings.  It was just too busy a time to be trying to remember to turn lights on and off and water things daily.  I have a few living still, but many, many died a sad, dry, weak death.  :-(  I haven't taken tally of seeds yet, but may need to buy some plants to make up for the loss.  I do plan to put beans in the ground soon - but we had a frost warning last night again, so won't be doing squashes or tomatoes for a bit still.  I am waiting on hubby to go get the truckload of manure for me also, so most of the beds aren't quite ready yet.

On the flower side... right now the iris and wild violets are blooming, lilac is almost done, lilies are on their way.  There is 1 bud on a rose bush and many plants that have shoots and leaves and growth.  The peonies are looking good, hosta are full and lovely, coneflowers filling in, butterfly bush getting tall.  Love this time of year!

We have sooooo many projects that need doing this year.  Work has been very busy for hubby and it is way past dark when he gets home lately... so we'll see what really gets accomplished.  I'll report back again before too long.

Crocus blooms peek out

First signs of spring here are always the crocus blooms next to the porch.  Today, we found the first ones - yellow and such a welcome sight as the snow finally melts away.  It has been a good, hard winter with lots of snow and cold.  I have enjoyed it (easy for me since I stay home much of the time), but am looking forward to spring - and this was a sweet reminder of what lies in store.  :-)

Big Summer Storm

We had a huge storm last night with high winds and hard rains and some pea-size hail. Also lots of awesome thunder and lightning! The gardens were my biggest concern, even though were without power or phone for about 6 hours overnight. I went out today and got a closer look. It's not horrid. I think we likely lost half the corn. It didn't seem like too many were broken above ground, but they were laying completely flat. I might try tying string to stakes and seeing if that will hold them up and let them re-root. If not, I may have time to replant that and still get a later harvest. The bush beans are fairly flattened, but I didn't see too many that were broken. The paste tomatoes are the worst - I had not gotten them staked yet, so they were a mess. I got about half of them untangled and staked somewhat before another storm arrived this evening. I need to finish that first thing tomorrow. I didn't have as much time out there as I would have liked today. :-(

Buds and Blooms

We have been working constantly on getting things settled in the gardens this spring.  The main garden beds are all built and filled with good soil.  It's still been a bit too cold at night to put the tomatoes in and I really want the fence up before I do much more.  That should happen this Saturday.

I have a bed made for the potatoes, but need to do ones for the asparagus, squashes and melons still.  Also need to build an arbor for the kiwi, put a trellis up for the peas, build the chicken run, plant all the beds and the herb bed and some flowers, I also desperately need to weed the flower beds and prune some of the bushes.

The lilac, dogwood, hyacinth, wild violets and tulips are blooming.  There are buds on the roses, irises, and peonies.  The strawberries are doing great!  The thornless blackberries are coming right up, they usually do well but then the deer eat them down - this year we will be fencing them in.  The wild blackberries are everywhere as usual.  The trees have new leaves unfolding and the ferns are beginning to unfurl.  I am considering adding a miniature apple tree to the center of the small garden.

I will add some more pics from my walk around the garden today.

March has arrived, "In like a lion..."

We had about a foot of snow that fell on March 1st through the morning of the 2nd. Here are some pictures of the beauty that swept over our yard and woods, covering the crocus blooms but also covering the mud and dirt and hiding from view all the To-Do lists that scroll before my eyes when I look out in the yard these days. We haven't had a snow like this in as long as I can remember here in Virginia... and we've been here for 12 years!

We all enjoyed it of course, and my happy seedlings are tucked away in the kitchen enjoying the light and warmth provided artificially. The peas had not popped out yet, we'll see when they appear.

The pics show the back yard where the veggie gardens will be, a rose bush with buds bent over into the snow (this is also where the crocus are buried), and my little frog wind chime near my corkscrew willow tree. I got some macro pics of the snow on the corkscrew branches too, those are on my photo blog.

The almanac predicts colder than average temps

through March but April should warm right up and be good with rainfall and temps. So, maybe the saying will hold true, and March will go... "out like a lamb."

More snow

We have had some snow/sleet/rain this morning and there is a bit of snow dusting the ground. Haven't planted the peas yet as it's been so muddy and nasty. Will do soon!

Snowing!

It is snowing today, just gentle flurries this morning but quite a few of them. Wonder if anything will stick?