Sunday, February 21, 2010

The new madness

This year, for the first time in many years, I decided to start some things from seed. A long time ago, I bought a seed-starting setup from Genine Lentine (was that her name?) when she had the garden shop downtown. It's in the basement, where it has something of the look of an unused piece of exercise equipment.
 

The seed-starting system should still work, if I can figure it out again. I should be home most of the next few months, so I can water and nurture the little babies.
 

 


Here's the collection of seeds. Mostly flowers, a few herbs...shouldn't be too hard, right?? I did manage not to buy seeds of English primroses once I went online and discovered how tricky they are to grow. These should all be easy peasy. Ha!

The cardinal climber vine is meant to twine around the S&H trellis, which I aim to put up in April. I also have designs on the sunny side of the front lawn for more garden beds, where these sum-lovers will find a home. Hmmm.

Signs of spring

Even while the snow was falling, the birds were singing madly. They were certainly ready for spring, as was the maple tree. Here are the red buds showing through the snowfall.
 
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Two weeks after the last storm, the snow is gradually melting. Yesterday was the first day the ground reappeared. And what should be growing, but snowdrops! I even found some aconite leaves. Here is the evidence: aconite, hellebore unfurling, first crocus of 2010:
 

 

 
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You might need to click on the photos to see what I'm talking about. Hope!

The Poor Man's Mulch

Boy, did we get a lot of it! After four snowstorms, I've lost track of just how much snow fell in Ferry Farm, but it was at least a couple feet. The last time we had anything like this was 1996. Climate change is spooky... Here are a couple images.
 
 
 
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The snow allows evergreens to show at their best. Most of the time, my eyes seem to glide right past them. But the snow reveals their structure in the most beautiful ways. Here are two pictures of the snow-bedecked cedar in the back yard.
 

 
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