My lilac is starting to leaf out - in March!
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| Lilac foliage emerging |
My tree peonies are waking up too:
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| Good morning tree peony! |
My wintersowing containers are starting to pop:
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| Wintersown Iberis seedlings in milk jug |
It's been so warm I got my vegetable garden amended with compost and planted with spring seeds already. I used scrap wood to make semi-raised beds this year - this is the neatest it's ever looked! (I'm sure it will still be a mess by summer...)
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| Veggie garden amended, dug and planted |
I've started installing a new bed by the patio. Roses, iris, filipendula, geraniums, and lilies will go there. I've been working hard in the dirt every day and my winter-wimpy self is sore and covered in grime and blisters. It feels great!
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| Removing grass and rocks to make a new bed |
There are no spectacular blooms yet, but bulbs are emerging, some perennials are growing, and I've started cutting back old foliage and cleaning out beds:
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| Beds cleaned out to reveal allium and daffodils poking up here and there |
Hooray for spring! Now back to work ...
Spurge,
ReplyDeleteThe garden looks like it is just waking up there. You will be rewarded in the new garden bed, hard work well worth it.
In our cold frames we plant spinach and meslun mix salad greens both do great. Any lettuce will winter over here in cold frames, even outside the cold frame it winters over.
Your area is quite a bit warmer than ours so you are well ahead of us. I'm sure this looks very boring to you - but to us in the north who have been staring at a white blanket for 5 months there is nothing more beautiful than a few tiny green shoots! We learn to appreciate a lot :-) Soon there will be actual blooms as well.
DeleteI'm not sure if lettuce will overwinter for me, but I'll give it a try - can't hurt!
Yippee! I'm about finished with my spring clean up and am taking yard walks multiple times a day to see what's up, or blooming.
ReplyDeleteHooray - I love all the little tasks of spring! It's so fun to walk around every day and see new things sprouting and changing.
DeleteEverything is indeed waking up in your garden. Good to see the shoots on your tree peony, I don't have much success with them.
ReplyDeleteTree peonies seem to grow well here, although maybe don't get as large because of the cold winters.
DeleteI just love to see little things poking up through the dirt! Your vegetable garden looks nice, too. I can't wait to see your new bed in bloom!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's so exciting to see things happening all around! Feels so great to get some work done in the yard.
DeleteHi Spurge! There are no spectacular blooms yet but how exciting is to see new green tops!
ReplyDeleteHow low do you cut your tree peony? Mine didn't bloom last year. I think because of the late March cold weather. I hope this spring will be more kind to it.
Hi Tatyana, I don't cut my tree peony back at all (I think you are in danger of cutting off buds if you do). I do cut away old leaves in fall for aesthetic purposes. Sometimes we have a bit of winterkill on branches, but not this year (too mild). If there is a severe cold snap after buds have emerged, it could certainly kill them so I hope this crazy year doesn't swing the other way!
Deleteoh no, lilac leafing out already. I picked a date to fly back from Barbados, looks like I picked wrong this year, last year I got a snowstorm, this year, I am going to be late to the party.
ReplyDeleteYou'd better hurry or spring will be over! Everything is starting to bloom at once here - crazy weather.
DeleteLooks like things are perking up!
ReplyDeleteYes, nice to see things waking up!
DeleteWhat your new bed is for? alliums and daffodils?
ReplyDeleteNadezda
It's a sunny spot so I plan to put a damask rose there, and some lilies, amsonia, siberian iris, and a few other things. I'll add some spring bulbs in fall but haven't decided what yet - maybe tulips? Thinking about the possibilities is fun!
DeleteRebecca,
ReplyDeleteSo glad that spring is coming your way. My garden seems to be about dead-on with your garden as our lilacs are also leafing out. So unusual! But we will take it.
Thanks for your very kind comments over at WMG!
Julie
Yes it is a very unusual spring, but I guess we should just enjoy it while it lasts!
DeleteHi Rebecca, things are happening indeed in your garden! I am surprised that you can grow tree peonies in zone 5. Everything is looking good and it is obvious why: you are working hard in your lovely garden! I envy you about your alliums (just a little bit, of course ;-)). That is one bulb that I love, but can't grow here in Southern California. It is simply too hot. Enjoy the spring!
ReplyDeleteChristina
I've been envying all the lovely tender plants you can grow too - especially all your roses! Roses are difficult here in the cold-winter, humid-summer midwest so we can grow only the toughest of toughies.
DeleteYes, new plants are waking up each day. I love it! Have fun with your new planting area!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun time - I've been following your garden too and you're much farther along than me.
DeleteThis early spring has been such a treat hasn't it. Last year spring arrived really late in May and I found it put me hopelessly behind. This year has been great for getting out there early. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteYes, I still can't my head wrapped around the fact that it's still March! It feels like early summer already - very discombobulating!
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