I think that spring has to be the time of year that I most look forward to . I am getting ready to start some of the tomatoes and cucumber in the house, and hopefully, this bout of snow will be the last one that we have here this year. I know that you people who live in the more northern areas might still have to go through more cold weather; but here in the South, we should be getting about over it. It looks like the temperatures are going to be in the 60's next week, and I am looking forward to getting outside and working in the yard again. I love going to Lowes and seeing what plants they have on closeout. They almost always have something that is on closeout, and last year, I got roses and blueberry bushes, as well as smaller potted flowers when we went to Lowes. We planted some fruit trees out in the back yard, and while they won't be producing anything for a few years, I still will enjoy seeing them out there growing.
I'm with you Yvonne. I love watching the earth wake up. My favorite color is what I call budding green, the color of the first show of leaves. It is such a delicate pale green, and it reminds me of an awakening spirit. I too am nursing settings of tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, some herbs, and some lovely annual flowers for this spring. I planted over 100 flower bulbs in January and February, and they are already sending up shoots. I purchased that large soapstone sink from my neighbor yesterday, and as soon as the weather permits I will looking for a plant nursery that carries water plants. I wonder if wild water lilies would work? I have access to a large water fowl reservoir near my home. I would appreciate all the input I can get on this subject.
I have Lilys of the Valley in full blume right now, and many of my newly planted bulbs have started pushing through the soil this last week. My tomatoes and other spring settings, I put into the utility room each night, because our tempartures can still drop rapidly. Last week, we went from 82 degrees to 32 over night.
It is still too cold at night to start outdoor planting but we can get started indoors. What are you planting to plant this spring. Our soil needs to be tested and add some nutrients to help improve the quality of the soil, the soil has not been feed in awhile.
I love spring too. Unfortunately I've got a long wait as I'm in the Southern hemisphere so we're headed into winter. Luckily my climate isn't as cold as what most of you experience. Snow is a rarity here, and if we see snow once this winter, it will be a lot. We do get quite a lot of frost though, and that can be dangerous for some of my bonsai trees - the only form of gardening I really do. I suppose I'll need to start my preparations for winter soon as some of my trees will need protection.
I am glad to report, we have crocus and daffodils beginning to bloom in the yard! Today there is the sense of Spring 'in the air', which is a welcome feeling! So, if I could post a sign in the sky to God, it would say, "Thank You for bringing warmth and flowers back to us!"
I love gardening. It has such calming effects on me. Most of my gardening efforts have been in vegatables for more than fifty years. Only in the last ten years have I been growing flowers that didn't take care of themselves. This will probably be my last year growing veggies. After I started my setting, I realized that this year I will have to give most of it away. But, there are always lovely flowers and fruit trees to show us the beauty of creation. I live in Texas, so the constantly humid tempartures of 95 to 105 from May to October, don't allow me to be outside enough to really graden thru the summer. And then fall comes again, and I have three to four months that I can dig in the earth again.
I planted potatoes and onions yesterday. I have broccoli and cauliflower growing inside I need to plant soon.
It was 72 here yesterday, and is about that , or even a little bit warmer today. I raked leaves until I got blisters (and then remembered that I have gardening gloves for this project), and there are little irises and faylilies peeking up out of the ground now. My friend and neighbor (Joyce Mcgregor) gave me some more iris starts, so now that I am getting the leaves raked back, I am going to start transplanting some of the iris. I am still tryng out the different flavored coffees from Coffee Fools; so this morning, I took Joyce some of the Blueberry Cinnamon coffee to try, and then went out with my little bucket and trowel and thinned out irises to bring home and plant. Ina, I love Lily of the Valley ! My mom used to have it in the yard when I was growing up, and often it almost peeked up through the snow to bloom. And the fragrance of Lily of the Valley is heavenly, too. I not only enjoyed the blossoms themselves; but I used to love wearing Muguet perfume.
I went for a long walk yesterday, it felt so good to get out. Walking past my garden, I noticed that the crocus are in full bloom, the tulips and day lilies are several inches high, and some of the other plants are starting to emerge. Yea!! I didn't think Spring would ever get here. I actually pulled a weed out of the garden.
I planted 100 more onions, red ones this time. Radishes are up. I tilled one of the raised bed my wife uses. She planted some lettuce and I'm not sure what else.