(I'm so happy to see these beautiful images! :) - promoted by Fong)
Good morning, and we're singing the blues. Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.
What a difference a week makes. On Tuesday, a week after a storm dumped a foot of snow on us, the high temperature was 82°. With the warmth, my hyacinth burst forth in a stunning display of sight and scent. Because I've planted a lot of antique varieties, there are subtleties of shade, form and scent that have to been seen to be appreciated - this group of blues and purples shows it as well as I can in photographs. Please note in the back the deep, deep indigo of King of the Blues.
It cooled down on Wednesday - we didn't even break 60° - but it was still pleasant enough to putter around outside, even if it wasn't yet dry enough to till the veggie patch. As I went about my business in the front yard a parade of passers-by stopped to compliment and comment, including a couple of cars that stopped in the street and shouted their appreciation from opened windows. My front yard is a magnet this time of year.
In Orange |
 One of the tasks accomplished on Wednesday was planting a line of Cascadia snap peas all along the front edge the flower beds with, of course, the assistance of Zasu, the Queen of Garden Helper Pooties. Zasu really is a hoot out in the garden, following me around and sticking her pretty little nose in everything. At least, unlike Arwen the Terrible, she doesn't dig up what I plant (although last Fall Zasu did stick her giant paws down in holes to pluck out bulbs as I planted them). The snap peas experiment will be interesting. I've had few instances of people helping themselves to the abundance of spring flowers, even though they're easily accessible, so I don't know if folks will take the opportunity to munch on a few peas as they walk by. I think I'll follow the snap peas with a cherry tomato plant vining down from one corner later in the season.
These are roman hyacinth, which are close to the original wildflower form of the flower. Note the loosely-arranged florets, and that the leaves are much narrower than more hybridized hyacinth. Roman hyacinth aren't as hardy as most forms, so I've planted my handful of bulbs close to the front walkway and porch where they'll benefit from retained winter warmth. They also should multiply well, so I'm hoping that eventually I can have a large patch of roman hyacinth planted on each side of the front walk.
I also was pleased to discover on Wednesday that the filled-to-the-brim compost bin has been cooking nicely - enough so that I could fit the remainder of the over-winter kitchen scraps and chopped debris into the bin. I was concerned that there wasn't enough "green" in the mix to get it cooking. I've decided this year to keep using the barrel from the tumbling composter as a collection bin for kitchen scraps, and letting the bin keep cooking until the compost is ready to go - perhaps as early as June I'll have a big batch of compost ready to go.
 Along with the hyacinth, I've planted a large variety of daffodils - this one is Eudora, purchased from Colorblends last year. It is a very lovely daffodil with its blend of ivory and pale apricot- and scented! Colorblends has a lot of forms of daffodils I haven't seen in other places, and I'll likely order more from them this year.
On tap for this weekend - if it's dry enough - will be getting the veggie patch tilled, the soaker hoses laid and the rest of the snap peas planted. It should be dry enough - we've had a couple of fairly windy days, and that usually just sucks the moisture right out of the soil. I also need to finish cleaning out the back flower beds, then dig some plants for escapee and Miss Blue (either one of you want some vinca or white lilac? I'll have some after the back bed clean up). We've decided to go "redneck traditional" for Easter - barbecued ribs. May not be ham, but at least it's pig!
That's what's happening here. What's going on in your gardens? |
