A Cautious Hope

My 2017 'bulb bed' has returned!  Mainly crocus so far, and a few squills.

       It may actually be spring soon. It's snowing at the moment, of course, but I have actually been outdoors working in the garden two days this week - one other day I tried, but there was a howling North gale and I just couldn't take it, my most detested kind of weather. The temp was +3 but the wind chill was -10. It was warm in the hoop house, but I couldn't stay in there all day! I have already tidied up and sorted all the pots. I have concluded that I really need to build some staging - high enough to be easy on the back, and with room underneath for storage (of pots and other stuff).  What I have now are plywood shelves balanced on plastic buckets. Not ideal. Anyway, next week the weather is looking better, with actual double-digit daytime temperatures and slightly above freezing night-time ones. I am looking forward to getting some of the seedlings out of the house and into the hoop house. I am willing to hook up the electric heater out there if the temps go below zero again, but I think they really need the light - and I really need the space - if only to start more seedlings. So, once they're out, they are staying out. Unless it goes to -10 or something.

         I have some snowdrops out! Seven or eight small clumps so far. They are the ones that I planted 'in the green' last spring, and I am so pleased to see them! They are all coming up in my woodland garden. The ones I planted from bulbs the fall before that (November 2016) are just starting to poke up out of the ground. Conclusion? More 'in the green' this spring! I shall be going along with my little spade and bucket.
       I had one quite big snowdrop last year under my cornus satomi, it had big leaves and was quite tall. Only one, though, and there is no sign of it this year - so far. I have not yet given up hope. The crocus in other parts of the garden are coming through - when I rake off the leaves, there they are, poking up. Again, much later than usual but none the less welcome for that. The 'Bulb Bed' above, has come along splendidly - it is on the south side of the garden and quite sheltered, so the bulbs are quite advanced. I planted some species tulips there last fall, and they are starting to show up now. I have to do some weeding there, but shall probably just direct seed some annual poppies for after the bulbs. That looked well last year.

              I do have one double snowdrop, bought at the Veseys sale in 2016, and put into a sunny flower bed. It is blooming as well. I expect to have to move it at some point, but not yet as it is still very small. Note: bulb fertilizer! I put it far away from the singles in order to prevent cross-pollination, but I rather doubt I will get to the point of developing new varieties any time soon. I just want the wood to be full of snowdrops - don't care what kind!
     I was quite worried about my beautiful burgundy hellebore - it is just beside the front path, and was covered again and again with snow, and worse, ice.  I took off the old leaves, and there was no sign of anything coming up, until yesterday, when I spotted a couple of hopeful-looking sprouts. This is much, much later than the previous two years - a factor of the winter, which was very cold and mostly snow-less, so the frost went deep into the ground. It is still not thawed very far down, so I am reluctant to uncover my rhododendrons just yet. On the upside, hellebore-wise, I have an actual bud, on a pink hellebore that hasn't bloomed before, in the bed on the right-hand side of the front path. It may bloom next week. No sign from all of the many others. Yet. I live in hope.
      I was trying to move some of my mammoth pile of wood chippings yesterday and it's frozen 20 cm. down. I am scraping off the top and barrowing it to the west side of the house for renewing the paths between the shrub borders. Just ran out of membrane - must acquire more so I can complete this task. I have a big circular seating area that didn't work well when I did it before - a combination of gaps in the membrane and a not-thick-enough layer of wood chips. I shouldn't have that problem this time. 

Possibly Not Spring Quite Yet...

     The snow has (mostly) gone, and quite quickly, too, considering how much of it there was. But Spring is still being a bit coy. Today, for example, we have light freezing drizzle and a minus one big degree outdoors. I had erected my poly tunnel and put out some seedlings a few days ago but I brought them all back indoors yesterday. I suppose I could run a power cord and put the electric heater out there, but it seems like a recipe for conflagration or other disaster...  

     The crocus are doing their best to cheer me up, coming up everywhere under the viburnums - as soon as the snow cleared away they bloomed, the brave things. Some of the daffs and the tulips are poking up as well, but no sign of blooms as yet. Very sensible of them, I'm sure.
Some slugs of unmarried parents have nipped off my hellebore beside the front path - I saw the buds unfurling, went back the next day to trim off the last year's leaves and the buds were gone. I don't have slug pellets but I put down grit, and then put it around the new hellebores I planted in the front yard as well. (I hope the slugs are enjoying the freezing drizzle.) I am planning a trip to Veseys this afternoon and hope to get slug pellets there - or somewhere. They don't deserve beer.
    I have quite a few varieties of tomatoes started - I am going to try to beat the dreaded blight spores this year, including growing them in the poly tunnel in pots. If the Brits can do it, so can I! I got "Defiant" and "Sweet Million" at Veseys, "Sasha's Pride" and "Super Italian Paste" at West Coast Seeds, and Anne sent "Legend" and "Stupice". I have pricked out most of them, and have about a dozen of each. Anne will have to take quite a few - or we'll have to plough up the lawn.  I also have sweet peppers up, and am trying to grow quinoa - the first seeds I planted have germinated, but they got quite stretched indoors. I tried to pot some of them on, but they didn't have their first true leaves yet, and, combined with low light, they have all expired. I have started a few more!
    Anne has sent me some seeds of white plants from VanDusen Garden and I am putting two of them into the cold frame - now that it is out from under the snow. One of them needs 16 degrees ("Asarina procumbens") so I'll keep it in, but the other two are OK for outdoors - "Aquillegia alpina 'alba'" and "Cardiocrinum giganteum". Fingers crossed.

Thyme for Bulbs

      We have been collecting bulbs for the past weeks and I had nearly all of them in the ground... and then Veseys had their half-price sale, and now I have more! A great big bag of different ones I have to site somewhere. I bought a couple of huge plastic pots when Kent was moving to their new store (and selling off the stuff they didn't want to move) and I think I could put a lot of little ones in there - I am thinking the Hollandica Iris (I have 50!) on the bottom and the crocus on the top (Blue Pearl and Jeanne d'Arc). But the fritillaria Persica and Fox's Grape will have to go into the ground. (I seem to have a habit of planting bulbs on or near Hallowe'en!) But first I need some styrofoam peanuts for the bottom of the pots or I won't be able to move them around. They are that big.
     The ones which are already planted are Alliums - 4 Gladiator and 15 Aflatuenense, and pink assorted narcissus (I always fall for these) as well as fritillaria Meleagris. And a whole lot of tulips, pink and white doubles and some purple ones from Vanco. Spring will be glorious.
          I found a great mitten pattern on Ravelry in the free patterns. It is in DK with a lace pattern on the back of the hand, and I have made one pair and have another under way. They are very quick and quite cute, I think! And could be a great use for all the DK I have gathered and have in storage.
      I have been home, of course, and making time for domestic tasks as well as planting. Processed a pumpkin yesterday and made puree for the freezer ( and a pie) and I am thinking I will do the other pumpkin as well, today (instead of wasting it as a jack o'lantern). I may boil this one rather than roasting it. Roasting may be more flavorful but it takes more cooking time.
       Yesterday I finished off planting a big patch of thyme - we killed the grass with carpet and I have spot-planted thyme plants in the space.

I am mulching with newspaper and sawdust to keep the grass from coming back until the thyme has gotten a head start. I know we will probably still have to mow to keep the grass at bay, but I think having big patches of thyme will be a vast improvement over just grass alone. I gathered some of the plants at the beach, (wooly thyme) and some of them had white blooms, as well as the more common purple. My fingers are thoroughly crossed.

Happy April!

Although the weather is anything but happy. We are burning the last of the wood in the furnace and wearing sweaters indoors, but just can't seem to get warm. It's 3 degrees outside (or was, when we walked earlier) but there is a nasty SE wind and it goes right through you!
 

So, not much spring to report, although there were buds breaking on the beech trees and I saw pussy willows and catkins on the birches. Perhaps we are just beside a stretch of really nice weather. I hope so! I am finding this pot quite cheerful now that the crocus are out, though I am not sure that the daffs and tulips will actually bloom. TWT.

Yesterday I finished all of the Master Gardener course I had time for - I didn't do the assignments on fertilizing and propagating because I didn't plan ahead. I will be pleased if I can get enough marks to pass.

Another thing I'm awaiting is the start of Beechgrove Garden - should be this week! I think they start April 5th, but it may not be posted right away. I am watching Gardeners' World but it's not the same - the English climate is so much better/earlier than ours. The flower beds are still buried in snow here! There, they are planting, dividing perennials...sick-making. Oh well.

I have been finishing up knitting projects and digging out old hibernating ones. Blaithin is finished except for the i-cord bind off and the buttonhole row. I am a bit bothered about how thick the steek sandwich turned out, although there's no doubt that it makes a nice neat finish.

 

 This is the side where I'll make buttonholes, later, when I figure out button placement.

I was worried that the green wouldn't show up very well against the grape but it seems to be visible in the photos at least.

I think I might have to do a few more decrease rounds at the neck- it is quite loose - but otherwise the sweater fits well.

This is the button side, with that nice neat steek sandwich. I will not use such a high-contrast yarn for the crochet the next time - I used a bright orange, and sometimes it peeks out!

I also did some home sewing - a quilted runner, table square and 6 placemats, in shades of brown, oranges and golds to go with the kitchen. They're pretty garish, but I like them!