Early Spring
Somehow, spring always sneaks up on me.
When the heat of summer sets in, I tend to let gardening chores slide a bit (or more than a bit, as happened last year). No matter how far behind I get, it's easy to tell myself that I'll catch up in the winter months. Never mind that some chores really have to be done during the summer. No, no, it'll be fine; I'll just catch up over the winter.
Then winter comes, and it's busy with holiday events, and people get sick or just don't feel like being outside because-- surprise!-- it gets chilly in the winter, and there's rain, and you have cold-weather indoor hobbies to focus on-- and above all else, it usually feels like the winter will last at least another month.
Well, ok, December went by in the blink of an eye, but that's ok. We have January. A new year-- a new beginning. It's perfect for getting those garden chores done and starting a new, better routine. We're going to keep up with it this time.2017 2018 2019's the year it's all going to come together!
Only January slips into February, and February into March. And here it is-- springtime already! Sure, we may have another blip or two of cold weather, but the plants are pretty convinced that it's spring. Many of my daylilies and crinums are in full foliage-- not to mention the trees putting out new leaves. Camelias are past their prime, the loropetalum is bursting with bloom, azaleas aren't far behind-- roses are blooming!-- and the sweet smell of the banana shrub drifts on the breeze. Yeah, it's spring.
I've started a little gardening, but the surface is only barely scratched.
I've dug up the 'White Cloud' muhly grass and taken divisions (one for Mom, one back in the same spot, and two more elsewhere in the garden), but I need to do the same for at least a couple more ornamental grasses.
I've gotten a few new plants started in pots (until I decide where they'll go in the garden): 'Black Knight' canna, mixed caladium, and 'Ville de Lyon' clematis, with 'Black Walnut' gladiolus still waiting (no sense putting those in a pot first).
There's more-- so much more-- but rather than scaring myself with a mile-long to-do list, I'll try to focus on what I accomplish each week, from now on.
In the meantime, I have a couple of bird photos to share. Donald and I have made an effort to keep feeders full in our garden during the latter half of the winter. We've seen tons of goldfinches, sparrows, Carolina wrens, and a pair or two of cardinals. One day I noticed this reddish bird at one of our feeders.
I can't tell if it's a house finch or a purple finch, but my best guess would be purple finch. Whatever it was, I haven't seen it again since that day.
The birds at the other feeder are goldfinches. Unfortunately, they're not quite as bright yellow when they're down here for the winter as they are during the summer, further north-- but they're still entertaining to watch at the feeders, and every now and then we'll spot one with brightening feathers.
While we're on the subject of wildlife, we've seen several deer in the past month or two-- one was actually inside our fenced yard!-- squirrels, but not much in the way of rabbits-- and a couple of small snakes (a garter snake near our kitchen door and a red corn snake just inside the double door of the garage).
When the heat of summer sets in, I tend to let gardening chores slide a bit (or more than a bit, as happened last year). No matter how far behind I get, it's easy to tell myself that I'll catch up in the winter months. Never mind that some chores really have to be done during the summer. No, no, it'll be fine; I'll just catch up over the winter.
Then winter comes, and it's busy with holiday events, and people get sick or just don't feel like being outside because-- surprise!-- it gets chilly in the winter, and there's rain, and you have cold-weather indoor hobbies to focus on-- and above all else, it usually feels like the winter will last at least another month.
Well, ok, December went by in the blink of an eye, but that's ok. We have January. A new year-- a new beginning. It's perfect for getting those garden chores done and starting a new, better routine. We're going to keep up with it this time.
Only January slips into February, and February into March. And here it is-- springtime already! Sure, we may have another blip or two of cold weather, but the plants are pretty convinced that it's spring. Many of my daylilies and crinums are in full foliage-- not to mention the trees putting out new leaves. Camelias are past their prime, the loropetalum is bursting with bloom, azaleas aren't far behind-- roses are blooming!-- and the sweet smell of the banana shrub drifts on the breeze. Yeah, it's spring.
I've started a little gardening, but the surface is only barely scratched.
I've dug up the 'White Cloud' muhly grass and taken divisions (one for Mom, one back in the same spot, and two more elsewhere in the garden), but I need to do the same for at least a couple more ornamental grasses.
I've gotten a few new plants started in pots (until I decide where they'll go in the garden): 'Black Knight' canna, mixed caladium, and 'Ville de Lyon' clematis, with 'Black Walnut' gladiolus still waiting (no sense putting those in a pot first).
There's more-- so much more-- but rather than scaring myself with a mile-long to-do list, I'll try to focus on what I accomplish each week, from now on.
- - - - - - -
I can't tell if it's a house finch or a purple finch, but my best guess would be purple finch. Whatever it was, I haven't seen it again since that day.
While we're on the subject of wildlife, we've seen several deer in the past month or two-- one was actually inside our fenced yard!-- squirrels, but not much in the way of rabbits-- and a couple of small snakes (a garter snake near our kitchen door and a red corn snake just inside the double door of the garage).
