Saturday, February 26, 2011

A garden update


Yes, it has been forever since I have talked about the garden. Well, in winter there is nothing to talk about. It is all brown and bare.

I did, however, plant about 700 bulbs last fall and hope to see some results. We have an early report.

Today I did some overdue pulling of dead stuff and I severely trimmed the French lavender and cooking sage bushes. Pretty much back to the ground. They did not weather the freezes of this winter as well as prior years and I confess to not keeping them as watered as I had in the past. They are hardy though. I filled two bags with detritus and then watered the yard.

Here are some tulips sticking out their little noses.


And here are the first daffodils of spring, in time for St Dewi's Day on March 1. They are small but bright and joyful.


And that's the news from Desert Farne.

--the BB

10 comments:

Ellie Finlay said...

Lovely.

700 bulbs is a lot. I'm very impressed.

Paul said...

Don't get too impressed, Ellie. I dig out an area, amend soil, toss bone meal in, throw the bulbs in, set them right side up, toss dirt over. I do not plant them one by one. It did take me a few days, I admit.

Btw, my first Elberta peach tree is named Ellie. I though of you as I watered her today.

Ellie Finlay said...

I'm still impressed. It's a lot more than *I* do!

That's so sweet about the peach tree.

it's margaret said...

Oh yes! No blooms here yet, but yours make me very hopeful --I did see a camellia bursting out today however!!!

wv: gellie
short for, good for ellie!

Paul said...

I adore camellias. And I miss them.

June Butler said...

Your garden is coming along, Paul. We've had camellias for some time now. In fact, we have a couple of cut camellias on the coffee table.

Tom won't plant the vegetable garden before Good Friday. That is the rule here. Tom planted before GF a couple of times when it fell late in the year, and a frost killed his plants, so he now follows the rule.

Paul said...

A good rule it is, Mimi. I remember planting tomatoes on Maundy Thursday and having snow on Good Friday. I now wait until mid-May before planting tomatoes here.

My yard is still quite bleak but, as you can see, there are signs of hope.

Fran said...

The garden is one of my favorite metaphors for faith. My own is buried under feet of snow, yet in a month or so those bulbs will explode with color.

God bless the garden.

God bless you.

Haha- my verification word is under!!!

Anonymous said...

We're still up to our (little) necks in snow, with six feet covering the dooryard flower beds!

Thanks for sharing these hopeful signs, Paul - it keeps my chin up while I wait!

Oh, and I just spent this Saturday at the Amherst Orchid Show,pics at my place. :)

tereake for now (that's your "word verification" word,)

- TCR

Paul said...

TCR,
I love your winter photos. All that beauty the way I enjoy it... at a distance with me warm inside. They are stunning.

I'll be sure to share as blooms emerge.