Nice evenings - no bugs

It was warm enough to get outside to weed in just a sweatshirt. I tackled 2 of my least favorite weeds to deal with - dandelions and creeping charlie. There will be no end to either of those weeds this year. Too bad the rabbits aren't interested in either of those!

The white magnolia is blooming and a couple of daffodils just began to bloom. I divided the flax and a moonbeam Coreopsis - both were getting a bit large and didn't see to be in the right place. I hope this move will make them fit in better.

Spring came early in 2009

I am amazed when looking back at last year's spring posts how much further along we are this year than last. It has been an incredibly dry spring, but by Easter (April 12) this year, I was out working in the yard for the first time. It is now April 26th and I've been out almost every day since working in the yard after work.

I have moved about 8 trees and shrubs this year, and have managed to clean up the garden. That was a task that didn't get finished last fall because of my shoulder surgery. Who knew it would take so long to recover from that? The more I work outside this year, the better my shoulder seems to hold out, so I'm pretty happy about that.

This weekend it was chilly, and today it rained - we needed it desperately. My big project for Saturday was to make a rain barrel. I can't believe I actually managed to do this myself - though in reality, I barely managed. Cutting plastic is HARD! Also, my tools are not in the best shape, and I'm not good at using them either. Not a good combination.

I spent Sunday working with my seedlings - there are too many! First, I had breakfast with some gardening friends, and then exchanged some seedlings with them. Some of my tomatoes needed a second transplanting already because they were getting too spindly. If the weather cooperates this week, the plan is to weed along the fences and to divide and move perennials. With any luck, some of the seedlings can move outside - that would really help with the space problem I'm running into.

Finally, Spring is here!

The snow wasn't quite finished since the last time I wrote, and the weather was cold for another week. As of this past weekend, we finally have spring! It is warming up to the 60's during the day with temps somewhere in the 40's at night. It is such a relief to work outside without freezing my fingers off. This is also that short-lived time of the spring/summer when a person can be outside enjoying the evening with no mosquitoes.

The weekend of May 3-4, I was able to boot the seedlings outside. Most other years, I believe I would have had the seedlings outside by this time. It has been rainy the past few days, with intermittent sunny days, so that has been a good combination of weather for this time of year.

Over the weekend, I did some weeding and pruning, and I planted some pots. Just for fun, I'm experimenting with direct sowing some seeds, which I've never had much luck with in the past. I tossed the following seeds a few days ago that are supposedly best direct-sowed: Queen Anne's Lace, Poppies and Dill.

Tonight, because they are predicting rain, I also decided to spread a bit more grass seed on some bare areas, and then I decided to use up some old seed that I've had around for too many years and didn't get good germination indoors: Zinnias and Marigolds. Whether or not any of that will germinate outside remains to be seen, but I won't hold my breath. Its fun to experiment though.

Highlights of the past couple of weeks:

• A trip to Donahue's in Faribault, MN, with some gardening friends. I loaded up on annuals, and picked up a few more perennials of the year.


• Being able to put the seedlings outside.


• Seeing some daffodils finally begin to bloom

Low lights:

• Seeing snow on a blooming forsythia


• Rabbit damage to the tulips

2008's Late Spring

The first day I was able to get outside to work in the yard this year was Sunday, April 20th. It has been a very wintery spring so far, with little going on out in the yard or even much success with the seeds indoors.

Here are the highlights of the week:

1) Getting out to work in the yard on Sunday!

2) A trip to Winter Greenhouse in Winter, Wisconsin where I got a flowering almond (tree form), a 'Blue Muffin' Viburnum, Clematis 'Bourbon,' Geranium 'Tiny Monster," Platycodon grandiflorus (Double Balloon Flower) 'Hakone Blue,' Scabiosa 'Butterfly Blue,' Dianthus deltoides 'Zing Rose,' Artemesia 'Silver Brocade,' Polemonium reptans 'Stairway to Heaven,' and a couple of annuals, including Oxalis 'Zinfandel' and Euphorbia 'Diamond Frost.' It was a good start!

3) A couple of good rains to get that grass seed I planted on Sunday growing.

4) The Forsythia is blooming!

5) I saw a Sparrow Hawk in my yard.

Here are the lowlights of the week:

1) The rabbits continue to eat the buds off of the tulips.

2) I dumped a tray of plants on the dining room floor - some of the seeds had been in the fridge for stratification for a month! Who knows where my Delphiniums are now? Maybe inside the vacuum cleaner?

3) The tomato plants I started in early March still look like they are struggling to make it. I gave up on leaving them under the lights and moved them out to the porch, hoping the natural sunlight would help.