by: Frankenoid

03/06/10 @ 08:02:24 AM MST

As we had a cooler-than-normal February, the first crocuses didn't bloom until the last day of the month.  These are roseus, a species crocus, and one of my favorites.  They bloom early and multiply (and a hint: squirrels don't like species crocus bulbs).  As the week progressed more varieties have bloomed, along with a couple of rock garden iris.  Soon there will be sprinkles of little blossoms all through the front beds.

With the turning of the calendar page, the weather also turned - this week the highs have been in the upper 50s, and we may get to the 60s by the end of the week - although a splash of rain may hit us tomorrow.

by: Frankenoid

02/27/10 @ 07:54:40 AM MST

Last weekend's snow storm delivered to Denver an extended period of gloom.  Although we didn't get a lot of snow - only 5" or so total - it fell in spits and spats over five days.  We didn't break freezing until Tuesday, got a touch more snow on Thursday evening, and temperatures have stubbornly stuck in the 40s.

A similar storm is forecast to roll in over the weekend - but on Wednesday we may finally break into the mid-50s, much like that late-February Saturday five years ago when I sat down and wrote the very first Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.  Well, except this year I'm still waiting for the crocus to bloom!

Today I'm reprising my favorite photos from the last year; this poppy is from May.

by: Frankenoid

02/20/10 @ 07:54:55 AM MST

Good morning, and I remembered!  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

Denver has continued its weather pattern of once-a-week snow, although this weekend's bout is lasting a bit longer.  We had a shot of sloppy snow last Sunday morning, quickly melted off the roads by the afternoon sunshine and early in the week we warmed to the mid-40s.  The current storm moved in last Thursday afternoon, bringing temperatures down below freezing, continuous cloud cover and off-and-on snow forecast to last until Monday.  Ick.

I'm proud to report, however, that before the storm moved in I did remember to re-fill the wiper fluid reservoir in my car before I ended up driving down the street with a windshield covered with tire-thrown muck and a dry reservoir.

Zasu Pitts, meanwhile, has been prowling the house and munching on...

by: Frankenoid

02/13/10 @ 07:37:38 AM MST

Good morning, and let's share.  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

Denver's weather has been unremarkable for early February for the past week.  The first half was on the cool-and-cloudy side, with lows hovering around freezing, and the lows dipped down toward zero one night.  Over Sunday and Monday we got a couple of inches of snow, but not enough to cause any excitement.  The week ahead is forecast for a repeat - chance of snow over the weekend, and warming a bit towards the end of the week.

Today's hyacinth vase is Missy's Brother's payment of his bet that I couldn't repeat the 7:00:00 Mountain Time posting time during December last year (yes, I could - several times).  This one is of Victorian vintage and, because it came from a garden blogging regular, it is especially precious to me.  Which brings us to today's festivities: giving what we have, and receiving garden treasures from others.  It's really wonderful to to be working outside in the spring and see the plantings I've received from garden bloggers come alive each year.

by: Frankenoid

02/06/10 @ 07:45:58 AM MST

We've had another week of calm weather here in Denver - highs in the 40s, lows in the 20s.  The storm that's hitting you Easterners blew through here on Thursday.  We got a bare trace of moisture, just enough to dampen the blacktop.

The snow is gradually retreating on the grass patch in the back yard, and I can see a bit of green around the edges.  Because of the northern exposure, the area right next to the deck will likely remain snow-covered until mid-to-late March, unless we have extremely warm weather.

We may get a bit of snow, or rain/snow mix, over the weekend and early in the week, with lows going down into the single digits Monday night.

by: Frankenoid

01/30/10 @ 07:57:49 AM MST

Good morning, and a month to go!  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

The weather has been pretty unexciting here in Denver - although one wouldn't know it from all the hype we got over a forecast for two to three inches of snow on Wednesday.

The snow was a no show - we got a bare trace.  Temperatures did drop down to the high just at freezing on Thursday, but for the most part we've been normal, normal, normal with highs in the 40s and lows in the teens and twenties.  The sun came out again yesterday and the radiant warmth makes me feel positively... sunny.

The forecast for the week ahead is for more of the same - and we're heading into February, when Denver starts to see the grip of winter slip.  Meanwhile, more forced hyacinth are coming into bloom - I think this one is Delft Blue.

by: Frankenoid

01/23/10 @ 08:34:35 AM MST

Here in Denver, temperatures have dropped into the more typical ranges of highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s - although we have had a couple of days when we topped 50°.

The big moisture-dumping storms other areas of the country have experienced are missing us; over the next couple of days, snow is predicted for the mountains, but down here on the plains over the weekend we'll get wind instead... lots and lots of wind.  By mid-week, highs are forecast to drop into the 30s, and we may get some snow late in the week.  It is January, after all.

But we are out of the Dark Time: sunset isn't occurring until after 5:00 p.m., and soon the sun will rise before 7:00.  My lizard brain knows that, although it's still a month before I can hope to see bulbs blooming, the growing season is coming.

I bought this pretty Christmas cactus a couple of weeks ago.  The blossoms start out salmon, turning fuchsia as they age.

by: Frankenoid

01/16/10 @ 07:14:05 AM MST

Last week I was just waiting for the cold to go and the forced hyacinth to bloom.

This week - the cold has gone, and the forced hyacinth have bloomed.

On Wednesday and Thursday the official high was 56°; at my place, actually in Denver, we got to 59°.

We dropped back to the mid-40s yesterday, but today the forecast is back to the upper 50s.

Whoo-hoo!

In Orange

by: Frankenoid

01/02/10 @ 07:42:43 AM MST

The week between Christmas and New Year's was cccooooold!  Not arctic-blast cold, but the thermometer didn't top freezing until December 31, and lows have been in the single digits and teens.  New Year's Day was the warmest day at 40°.  Even worse, we've had a lot of cloud cover, so we haven't had sunshine melting off our last snows very quickly.

The month ahead will bring more of the same: January is Denver's coldest month and record lows for each date runs at least -10°.  On the other hand, heavy snow is rare, and Chinook winds can bring highs in the 60s and tastes of spring-like weather.

Meanwhile, the large Christmas cactus is blooming spectacularly, loaded with huge blossoms.

by: Frankenoid

12/26/09 @ 07:34:46 AM MST

Good morning, and here's to a picture perfect Christmas.  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

On Tuesday, Denver's weather turned from the 59° high of the previous day, to cold and... SNOW.

We had light snow falling on and off through Christmas Eve - only about six inches, just enough to provide a beautiful and pristine crystal blanket.

It's been cold, with lows hovering around 0°, and the highs for the last two days in the low to mid 20s.  But the roads were clear yesterday for those who travel on Christmas.

As I said - a picture perfect Christmas.

by: Frankenoid

12/19/09 @ 07:03:33 AM MST

In Orange

Good morning, and are you ready?  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

Denver's weather has returned to normal, with highs in the 40s and 50s, and lows in the 20s.  Depending on which forecast one looks at, we have a chance of snow mid-week; it would really nice to get a light snowfall Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, after delays caused by cold and colds, I managed to get the necessaries for Christmas accomplished this week.  Wednesday was my last chance to have Da Boys out of the house and at school, and, after a bit of shopping, I spent the day cramming presents into boxes and throwing paper around them.

Caligula thought it all was great fun.  Not only were there boxes to jump in and out of, and bubble wrap to carry off (along with a roll of Scotch tape!); he found battle with rolls of wrapping paper to be most invigorating.  Here he is planning the next assault.

by: Frankenoid

12/12/09 @ 07:01:39 AM MST

In Orange

Good morning, and We're All In This Together.  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

That was some storm system, huh?  Especially as it hit almost every part of the country - a shared experience.  Here in Colorado we missed most of the snow (we got a few inches), but we were hit with a week of extreme cold.

On Wednesday I was either a very good, or very bad, mother.  Our official low was /-17°.  I didn't have to go work.  Da Boys did have school - riding public transportation, each with one transfer.  The buses tend to run slow during bad weather and, during extreme cold, are usually over-crowded and may skip stops if the bus is full.

I thought about driving Elder Son to school, and having the Mister take Younger Son.  But there was no way in hell I was voluntarily going out in cold like that.  Especially as they had only a half-day of school.

So I kept them at home, calling them in "too damned cold to go to school".

by: Frankenoid

12/05/09 @ 08:57:29 AM MST

After our unseasonably warm Thanksgiving, Denver went into December with ccccold!  On Tuesday night cold front rolled in, and Tuesday's low and Wednesday's high were the same: 21°.  Thursday, the high was 17°, and lows have dipped below zero.

The cold abated a bit yesterday, getting above freezing... but we're getting slammed again tomorrow, with a it of snow and highs in the teens predicted.  Cold weather is forecast to continue through at least mid-week.

But Monday when I came home from work I was momentarily confused at the crocus blooming in the front beds.  I'd forgotten that I'd finally managed to slam the fall-blooming crocus into the ground earlier in November and, despite the delayed planting, they bloomed.

by: Frankenoid

11/28/09 @ 10:51:46 AM MST

In Orange

Good morning, and may you have had a storied Thanksgiving.  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

Denver (and Pueblo) had spectacular weather for Thanksgiving.  Temperatures have been in the upper 60s - or higher - for the last several days: yesterday at the weather station nearest our house, the thermometer hit 75°. It doesn't matter for record keeping purposes, as our "official" weather (69° yesterday) is read at Denver International Airport, 30 miles away from Denver, and under a different weather pattern.

A cold front rolls in today and temperatures will drop into the 40s and 50s - the normal range.

The orchid was grown by my mother-in-law: she says she doesn't do anything to get hers to bloom.  Just buys cheap plants at the grocery store, plops them in her west-facing window, and waters them.

by: Frankenoid

11/21/09 @ 07:24:36 AM MST

In Orange

Good morning, and now comes the dark time.  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

We had a really nice warm-up here in Denver, after the 10" or so of snow dropped last weekend.  By Tuesday we'd gotten to the 50s, and yesterday the high was 58°.

Today is forecast to be just as warm, although a bit of a cool down is on the menu - nothing drastic, just going down into the more normal 40s.  Luckily no weather excitement is predicted for Thanksgiving when we make the annual trek down to Pueblo to the Mister's family.

But we're now in that time of year when it's light late and dark early.  These two months from late November to late January, when the sun doesn't rise until 7:00 and sets before 5:00; when Arctic Blasts keeping temperatures hovering around 0° (or lower) for day; are so very hard for a gardener.

But Zasu enjoys sitting in what sunshine we get - I'd like to put a plant where she's sitting, but the pooties won't tolerate the plants getting all the good spots!

by: Frankenoid

11/14/09 @ 07:21:39 AM MST

Good morning, and it's a miracle!  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

Well, actually a couple of miracles.

First, I managed to get every single fucking spring bulb into the ground!  Denver had a string of lovely days, with highs creeping into the 70s on Wednesday and Thursday.  Starting last weekend, I took my trusty drills and bulb augers out to the front yard, and started drilling holes and plugging them with bulbs.  On Wednesday I put in a big push, and, after mowing the lawn, spent the time between the morning warm-up and the afternoon cool-down putting hundreds (yes, that's right, hundreds of beauties out.  By day's end, everything but a few dozen crocuses for the back lawn patch were planted.

The second miracle?  As I was planting daffodils in front of the front porch, I discovered that somewhere, very late in the season, the passionflower vine I thought was gone had undergone resurrection.  And I also discovered a volunteer passionflower.

by: Frankenoid

11/07/09 @ 07:59:15 AM MST

Good morning, and where does the time go?  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

Denver recovered rapidly from the snow dump of a week ago: by Halloween evening the snow was gone from the southern exposures and the path was clear for massive numbers of trick-or-treaters to clomp up our front steps, ignore the doorbell and pound on the door.

For the past few days we've been hovering at near record highs at the airport: 77° on Thursday and 75° on Friday.  In Denver proper we were several degrees warmer.  Overnight lows have likewise been warm, not even descending to the 40s.

Today and tomorrow will be a touch cooler, but still lovely fall days - and the warmth earlier this week dried out the soil enough such that I'll be able to get at least some of the spring bulbs into the ground.  I think I'll concentrate on those really pricey bulbs from Old House Gardens first.

by: Frankenoid

10/31/09 @ 07:02:22 AM MDT

In Orange

Good morning, and the battle is joined.  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

Nature, apparently, has joined in the War on Halloween and Expansion of Christmas in Denver this week.  It's bad enough that at the grocery store candy canes and Halloween candy were on display side-by-side, but a foot and a half of snow, falling over two days, was a little much.

The slower-than-usual rate of the snowfall (inches per hour over far fewer hours is more typical for these major dumps) meant that we didn't have problems with power outages caused by heavy snow accumulating on still-leaved trees, as frequently happens when Denver has heavy October snows.

I'm not sure, however, how my new daphne bush fared: between the natural snowfall, the snow falling off the lilac bush above it, and Da Boys dumping shoveled snow on top of it, it was well buried and what is peeping out from the pile looks well squished.  We'll see in a day or two how many broken branches there are.

by: Frankenoid

10/17/09 @ 07:00:54 AM MDT

In Orange

Good morning, and we will now return to our regularly scheduled programming.  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

Last weekend's cold snap was one for the record books: two record lows (17° and 18°) and a record low maximum temperature (26°).

On the books it looks like we were out of it on Wednesday when the recorded high temperature was 69°.  Unfortunately it didn't feel like 69°, as we had persistent cloud cover and fog (fog!  In Denver!) for most of the day.  Man, I really hate high humidity.

It felt much warmer yesterday, with no clouds and no fog and the high at only 65°.

And this weekend will be perfect for assessing the damage: today will be sunny and in the upper 60s, and Sunday we may break another record on the other end of the spectrum: the forecast is for a high of 82° and the record high for October 18 is 84°.

by: Frankenoid

10/10/09 @ 07:01:30 AM MDT

In Orange

Good morning, and brrrrrr.  Welcome to Saturday Morning Garden Blogging.

Denver's weather has yo-yoed this week; highs have ranged from the 60s to the 30s, official lows going into the high 20s - in Denver proper, we've had frost on car windows, but until this morning, no killing frost.

But overnight, our first Arctic Express arrived, and this weekend promises to be cccold.  When I got up this morning it was 19° and the forecast high may not break freezing.

It's an El Niño year - weird stuff can happen.  Don't know if we'll have an October blizzard as we did in the El Niño year of 1997 - but it could happen.

This is really early for a blast of Arctic air - which means (thank gawd) that we won't be dipping into sub-zero temperatures.  Yet.

But, in anticipation of the freeze, yesterday afternoon I went out and cut all the catnip (the catnip went wild with our wet summer weather), and now the pooties are having a high ol' time crawling over, under, around and through The Big Rock Catnip Mountain.