The wild roses are blooming, and the air smells sweet. Along the roads and into the woods, white and purple phlox are rampant. Too bad the weeds are also thriving!

I planted seeds, zinnia, basil, cosmos, dill, marigolds and others, I'm sure. I plant them all in about a week, so sometimes I forget about them, which makes for a fun surprise. As long as I mark the places where seeds are, so I don't overplant them with something else, it's all good. The marigolds and basil are planted along one of the long sides of the pool area, with the cherry tomato plants. I use old stocking strips to tie the tomatoes to the chain link fence. This both supports the plants and hides the ugluy fence. The zinnias, cosmos and dill grow to around four feet, so the will (hopefully) cover the other sides of the fence. They are just beginning to pop up. It is pouring rain right now, which is good after several hot sunny days, next post I'll have pictures of their progress.

What a Mess!

My pool area is a mess.

And yet, we did the right things. We had all the weeds removed, landscape fabric put down, and several inches of mulch over that. We had four tasteful whiskey barrels, and felt the woods should stay on it's side of the fence. As Oscar the Grouch would say, Ding dong, you're wrong! Weeds everywhere, thriving in all conditions.

Since keeping plants out was impossible, I decided to start a new project, to add to the 20 or 30 other projects I am currently involved in. I am planting all the most prolific of my perennials, hoping they will fill in as well as the weeds have. I also figured since the pool is in the sunniest spot in the yard, all the vegetables, not just a couple of tomatoes should live there. Stay tuned!

Even Tinier Gardens

I think I need an "egg cutter" (never hace seen one, but read they exist. And I read it on the interweb, so it mjust be true!) Cutting the tops off the eggs was the hard part, especially the fresh eggs my friend Dawn provided me, from her chickens.

Succulents by the dozen!

Tiny Gardens

I have been playing with terrariums lately. Maybe because planting and maintaining them does not hurt my back! I'm experimenting with various plants to see what will grow very slowly.

March Moon

What a mild, beautiful day we had, and then this bright moon at night. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer, spring will be galloping right along. The clocks go back this weekend, everything seems different in life when the season changes.

Still February

February is a very busy birthday month in our family. The celebrations make this short month go even faster. In the background scenery winter is bustling through, this year with very little snow. Did you ever notice in mid February, snow or no snow, the birds begin to be heard again? I remember walking our old dog one day after work, with a foot of fresh snow on the ground and the birds carrying on as loudly as spring.  And spring is after all right around the corner. 

Snow Moon

Tomorrow night is the February full moon, known to Native Americans in this area as the Snow Moon. Not very descriptive this year, snow has been lacking. The only real storm came before Halloween, nothing significant since. Makes for a more comfortable winter, too warm for ice, snow and howling winds, but a little dull as well.

Fairy Gardens

Just before Christmas, I received a gift certificate for one of my favorite markets. I was enjoying shopping for holiday food when I spotted an interesting display. It was a collection of miniature gardens and accessories. Little pergolas, bird baths, rustic fencing and gates, benches, paths, all set off in containers  with small plants.

Thinking ahead to the January blues, I indulged myself with a fairy garden kit. Then on Christmas, my son gave me a bonsai kit, with seeds for little pine trees and moss. I have a lot of moss outside, and for once it is not covered in snow this time of year. That will be useful as I have never grown moss from seed, and wonder how easy it is. I can see a busy winter working on little gardens. They certainly have to be more manageable and less back strain than the outside version. 

So It Goes

Again, it has been awhile since I posted. But inspired by my daughter's new blog, I'm back.

Funny that my last post was the October storm. It  was the only bad weather we've had, so far. What a beautiful, mild late fall/early winter season it has been. Christmas has come and gone, the days are already a little longer, and I found half a dozen dandelions in my yard the other day. Even though there are surely snow storms ahead, spring seems close.