As the Snow Goes

Every day the snow shrinks a little. As the snow goes more of the garden is revealed. The stone walls are uncovered, but we are still waiting for the stone paths to appear from their winter blanket. Every spring I am greeted with many small catchfly plants. They are rampant self seeders, but I love their bright pink flowers, and the hummingbirds agree, so I always let some of them stay. The truth is I'm very happy to see them!




The hens and chicks look like they have had a terrific winter. It will be awhile longer before the entire clump is revealed. It's so nice to see them peeking out from beneath the snow ice. Today huge snowflakes are falling. It's pretty, but at this point I would prefer rain!

Ed has planted Dahlia roots in pots. Last year the mid-March planted tubers were in bloom by July 1st. We had blossoms for a full three months. There is one possible snag. The root masses were still moist when they were placed in the galvanized can. He may have planted compost in the pots. It's official, stone wall garden 2011 has begun.

Catch Fly And Rain

This picture of catch fly was taken yesterday. I got my first catch fly from Mary Jo. Anything that attracts butterflies and hummingbirds attracts me. This interesting plant gets its name from the sticky sections on the stems that trap small insects.They are the brown areas about 1/4 inch long in the picture. The plants self seed every year. The hummingbird loves these bright pink flowers.

It's been raining all day. We've enjoyed watching rain falling on the garden from the comfort of the living room. Ed has the last of the plants in, and is looking forward to getting back to the shade garden wall. I still have a few more seeds to plant, and plenty of weeds to pull. A walk through the garden reveals strawberries, spinach,radishes, mesclun, lettuce and fresh herbs are ready for picking. The catnip drying has begun. I'm beginning to dry herbs for tea. New flowers are blooming every day. It's a glorious time for the garden!