March begins with a light snow on the ground. Beautiful but not the least bit spring-like. It’s difficult for me to not visit my favorite nurseries and cruise the aisles for new plants. In previous years my enthusiasm led me to buy too early, placing baby plants into too cool soil. The results were not good and I’ve since learned to let the experts nurture them until it really is planting time.
At the first sign of true spring weather I will pot plants for the front porch. The sheltered area is a bit kinder to new plantings and I love the way I can make the front porch more welcoming. In the meantime I may have to buy a houseplant just to feed my needs. The last frost date for our climate zone is April 15 so I’ve got plenty of time to plan.
For those of you who never saw my previous blog called “I’m in the Garden” you can click on the link to see what I’m talking about. One of the things I did each month was take a picture of my backyard vegetable garden from the same location on the first day of every month and review what had happened in the garden the previous month. I love doing this as it creates a timeline and journal for me and allows me to appreciate all the changes that are happening around the yard. I wander with my camera and look for beauty, growth, newness and an overall sense of where my garden is.
Gardening, although mostly seasonal, is a big part of my life, from nurturing the soil and plants to canning and freezing the harvest, so I think it should be part of Janet’s House blog. Hopefully I can inspire you as I spend my spring and summer coercing and compelling seeds and starts to produce our food. I’ll share the vegetable garden progress as well as the more decorative aspects of my yard.
Here are some of the pictures I took this morning:
Out in the front yard the Rhododendron in full bloom
The tete-a-tete daffodil bulbs are pushing up in the pots.
Out back the garlic is showing signs of life.
The rhubarbs large, ruffled leaves are holding onto the snow.
I learn as I go, so I’m always reading and listening for new ideas. I work hard to take care of the earth in which I raise our food and am eager to encourage everyone to do likewise. I’ll share my favorite garden books, cookbooks and you might notice down there on the lower right column I’ve added some of my very favorite garden blogs. There are so many knowledgeable people out there who share tips, pictures, ideas, thoughts and advice daily.
So, I’ll still be in the house loving every minute of being creative but now you can join me outside too. I know it’s just barely March and the weather is still most definitely winter here in the Northwest and who knows what elsewhere, but my green thumb is getting itchy.
Stay tuned!
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