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.

Seeds To Soil

I may be rushing the season but today I planted seeds. Peppermint stick zinnias and China asters were among the seeds chosen. Flowers have always been an after thought here, but this year we will try to start some of our own flowers from seed. Annual asters are our choice to fill in the early bulb beds. Our favorite asters are available at a local nursery but only in large potted groups. We need single plants. The nursery man showed little interest in raising single plants so we will try to do it ourselves. As in all things timing is everything. If we started too early, we will transplant twice, and spend a month moving the plants outside on good days. If we started too late we will wait for flowers.

A dahlia spent the winter in a galvanized covered can in the basement. Two sections were carefully removed from the large root mass and planted in the pots in the foreground. This is a new experience for us. We will report our success or lack thereof. Light for the dahlias will have to come from the window. At worst we may have made more compost.

Becky snapped the picture while I was working a section of 2" by 4" welded wire. More cages are needed to protect the emerging spring bulbs. Rabbit damage has already occurred. The two cages built today are in place protecting the tender green tips of dwarf iris and crocus. More cages are needed. A record of what was planted where would be helpful. The cages could have been placed when the bulbs were planted. Now the only choice is to look for the tips then place a cage, hopefully ahead of the rabbit. We will likely never learn to follow the easy path.