Calendar vs Plants

The date today is March 2, 2012, and we should be having cold windy weather, but it is very pleasant outdoors.  I took a saunter around my house and saw that plants are popping up before their usual scheduled appearance.  No matter that the weather predictors have warned us about storms, hail and even tornadoes.

I could see the daffodils from my window and the beautiful red camellia but it always blooms at this time.  The periwinkle around my house is full of those tiny blue blooms.  A beautiful saucer magnolia is showing lots of purple/pink/white blooms all over the top and side.  Sedum (Autumn Joy) is popping up in front of my stone wall.  Dianthus  (Bath Pink) is ready to pop open with blooms.  Paper White Narcissus is up but being rather secretive about showing any blooms.  I saw the red  blooms on the maple by my shed, getting ready to show it's red wings.  The red Peony is beginning to come up too.  All of this and I still have two Muscadine vines to prune.  All of the other eager beavers on this place need to calm down and wait for the calendar to lead the way.

It is not that I do not enjoy seeing all of the early risers, I just do not want them to get the cold shoulder from Mother Nature and have to suffer an early freeze.  At least the bluebirds have not started building their nests.  They must be waiting for me to pull up the front door of their house.  I had to open it so the squirrels would not overwinter in them.  I would much prefer to have the birds in there than the gnawing squirrels.

At least my blueberries are behaving as they normally do.  It would really be a loss if they were frozen out.  The weather always has surprises for us.  When I was a young girl we were all ready to wear our new Easter clothes and a winter storm brought in heavy snow.  Needless to say we put them away and went to the Easter service  in warm and comfortable clothes.

In the mid 1960s our entire neighborhood in Arnold, Maryland was taken aback one year when Christmas day turned out to be a short sleeve day.  You may be sure all of our neighbors were out discussing this turn of events as we walked around in our short sleeves.  By the time that the hot summer months come along we no doubt will be back to our normal weather pattern, nothing seems to deter those hot humid days in the south.

Garden Tour

Today is voting day here where I live. We are electing a Congressman to replace Nathan Deal in Washington. One nice thing about going to the polls is that you see people who are neighbors whom you hardly ever see. We all live close enough to each other that we can visit but not walk to their homes unless you are a really avid walker. Today I ran into the Pinsons who farm up the road from me. She is a retired chemistry teacher and he is retired from Boeing. They are serious farmers and also raise cattle, chickens and lots of edible things that grow in their fields. They are both handsome people and most pleasant to see and to know.

Since it is a cool cloudy day it is just right for exploring in the garden to see what is coming up and what weeds are taking over. I went up in my work horse to try and find the praying mantis egg cases I tied into the vineyard. The leaves are so thick I could not find the red netting I used to tie them with. On Sunday Grant and I went looking for the one tied by my dining window and it had not hatched. So, it is a little early yet for them. I was able to check out the kiwi and the blooms are out in full bloom on the male plants and just coming to bloom on the female.

I found lots of green figs on the one tree we left standing. The tree looks healthier for the pruning and the figs nice and plump. The two huge pear trees have grape sized pears hanging everywhere. I hope I can get some before the squirrels steal them all. Near the kiwi I have one red raspberry plant. It is trying to make fruit, but is not as big as I would like. The one green niagra seedless grape vine I put up in the vineyard in the second row is putting out new leaves so that is good news.

I noticed the black bamboo is putting out new growth this year. It is about three years old and has had to get roots going before the top growth can come on. Moving on down to the raised beds I see growth but not rapid growth. I think it is a bit cool yet for a lot to happen. They too are developing a good root system to support what is yet to come. The Thai white eggplant has not come up at all. I think it likes really hot weather so I will wait and see on that one. The patty pan squash is not doing much growing so I assume it needs more sun and warmth.

I will give the Arapaho blackberry a thumbs up and it is one big lush plant. The ones I planted in that bed with it are blooming but do not have the vigor of this one plant. Of the 15 burpless cucumber seeds I planted 12 are up and looking happy. I still have another packet with 15 seeds so at some point I will pop them in the ground for later in the summer.

I had such high hopes for the sequoia strawberries, but they are disappointing me. I think it is the soil, it needs more sand. So, that is a chore I will need to attend to. I am very happy with the blueberry bushes this year. Having a netting up to keep the wild animals away has really helped. I just had to pull some weeds even without gloves, but the entire bed looks happy.

The one heirloom tomato plant is not happy in the pot inside the fenced beds. You can plant those tomatoes whenever you want but do not expect them to grow until they are happy with their setting. I still have all of the other plants in my sun room waiting for the right time to set them out. I think a green house would be a big help around here but that is a more serious step and I have not been willing to take it yet.

I hope you are out exploring your garden and finding things to be happy about.