First a Light Frost, then Sunshine

It was pretty late in the day yesterday when the frost warnings showed up in the forecast. We were tired , but Ed decided to cover the frost sensitive plants. If we covered them and didn't get a frost, it would still definitely be worth the effort. As it turned out we got a frost, but it was a light one. The frost seemed to be heaviest on the roof of Ed's truck. The morning sun made short work of the frost, and it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. Ed spent the entire day in the garden, and when I returned home there was a bouquet of wonderfully scented Buffalo currant flowers on the kitchen counter. Also known as clove currant, Ribes oderatum is a welcome fragrance in the garden and in the house. It is the yellow bush just to the right of the stone patio. Sometimes I get to see a hummingbird on these flowers. With the weather warming there's hope for that..

Ribes Odoratum Indeed!

The clove currants are the star of the garden these days. No matter what you are doing in the garden the heady fragrance of these tiny little yellow flowers captures your attention.

The bumblebees are attracted to the plant, and it is frequently where I see my first hummingbird of the season. No hummingbirds have appeared yet, but the plants still have lots of buds yet to open.

On one of the plants I got a very brief glimpse of what I thought looked like a hummingbird moth. It was shaped a lot like a bumblebee, but had a very pointed rear end. I have never seen one like it before. It was gone in a flash. I came inside and checked in my caterpillar book . I think it could have been a snowberry clearwing. I keep watching hoping to see it again. If he doesn't come back maybe a hummingbird will stop by. In any event working in the general area of these flowers is a pleasure.

I Live In Zone 4, I Live In Zone 4...

This tuberose is the poster child to remind me that I live in zone 4. Not only did I not get any fragrant flowers, but the plant barely got started growing when it was time to dig it up and move it inside. Three plants from the five bulbs may be great success in zone 4, but I want fragrant flowers!

Actually the weather today is a vivid reminder that I live in zone 4. You know it's cold when we look through the binoculars to see if the flag is down on the mailbox before we suit up and trudge down there . No extra trips are being made outside today. It's blindingly white and bitterly cold out there .

We intend to settle down and order seeds,and we did make some progress today, dropping some of the catalogs we know we won't be ordering from into the recycling. With all the catalogs we get, there are way too many choices.

This year one catalog in particular captured my imagination for some reason. High Country Gardens : plants for the water wise garden and beyond is the name of this piece of temptation. This catalog comes from Santa Fe, NM. Something in me balks at ordering plants and having the poor things travel that kind of distance in a cardboard box. Still there is an agave on the front cover that is just sooo BIG!

Something needed to be done so I got a big old black marker and black marked all the plants that were zone 5 and up. Most of the really tempting plants were eliminated. Checking the rainfall map I discovered only non-Xeric plants are recommended for here. Now the temptation is nearly gone. At least it's down to a level where I can move this catalog into the recycling. Oh there is one other thing. The is the only catalog where I have ever seen Ribes odoratum, clove currant, for sale. Of course I have that so I don't need any more, but they do have it.