Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Sunshine, Then Chill and Rain

Buds on the crabapple tree.

Leaf suckers on the grey trunk of the crabapple--this tree seems to be purely ornamental--its spring beauty earns it an on-going place in the back yard.

Crabapple and redbud against a clear blue sky.

Walking along the edge of the lower perennial bed during the warm spell, I thought I detected very tiny seedlings of the heirloom papaver somniferum which I scattered on a warm day in February.
Mind you, its been a few years since I watched poppy seedlings emerge.
Today I confirmed that some of the poppies have germinated.  They like cool damp weather.
Beside the poppies you can see wild onion which is one of the invasive weeds on this small farm.
A pink-flowered form of dead nettle is another undesirable that must be battled.
I weeded in the lower garden and scratched about with my hand-held digger, sprinkled a few more poppy seeds here and there.
The sun hid behind grey clouds and a cold wind whisked in from the north, sending me inside.
We had invited neighbors out to eat.  A drizzle began as we left for the restaurant; when we came out a very cold rain was sluicing down.
I was in such a mood to get the 40 asparagus roots planted and to continue with the herb garden by the side door.
All must wait again for dry weather.
Meantime--I have a fat new garden encyclopedia purchased with a birthday certificate from amazon.
I'm off to the big chair by the fireplace!

11 comments:

  1. I love the redbud tree, I was just telling my husband yesterday that I would like one of those. I'm not sure where I am going to fit it but I will! I envy you that spring is well on it's way. We had snow this morning :(

    ~Shanon

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  2. Your spring seems to be a few weeks ahead of ours.

    It must feel good to be able to grow things that would not have survived the Wyoming climate.

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  3. Yes, our weather has been glorious this past week but today we are back to battle ship grey skies.
    Buds are bursting everywhere and it worries me a bit that we may get the really cold weather back again to spoil the new growth.
    We have had snow in April before so really this warm weather is a bit of a tease.
    That garden encyclopedia will help you spend your money. lol there's sure to be lots of plants that appeal
    Briony
    x

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  4. After the weather we have had this past week (southwest Ohio), a chair by the fireplace sounds wonderful.
    Lillian

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  5. You lucky duck, get to scratch in the dirt and scatter seeds. We still have winter here, and more to come next week. I will truly be behind the 8 ball, just like last year, we didn't really warm until Fourth of July weekend.
    Enjoy your book, and weather, bottle me up some, pleeeease!

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  6. Hi Shanon: Don't know if redbud is hardy in Colo Spgs--its native to the southeast. Its a very twiggy spindly tree, but so pretty in spring.

    Al; I realized I was falling asleep over my "read"--warm cat on my lap, the heavy new book, wood fire snapping beside me--ended making an early night of it.

    DW: Our spring is in regression mode at the moment. Gardening was a huge part of my life before Wyoming. I'm happy to be at it again. We are blessed that the former owners were also gardeners and left many treasures for me to find.

    Briony: I'm concerned here that the early surge of warmth may have brought some things on too soon. It is not weather to work outside, but the grass and things in the perennial border seem to be flourishing in spite of the chill.

    Lillian: I'm thinking you're not that far north of Louisville [?] maybe just a bit cooler than here. Today was a good day to get some cleaning done inside--but the hoped for time to sew didn't happen.

    Denim: Nebraska has always struck me as a harsh climate--marginally less so than Wyoming. Hopefully warm weather will arrive for you and you'll be over the flu and ready to go.

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  7. Wow, Sharon! I can't believe you went through my whole blog! No quilts in the near future for me. I do tend to stand in line with all the quilters buying their gobs of fabric at JoAnns Fabric. It makes me think of the fun my sisters and I always had at your house. I remember you both sewing and you showing my mom how to do different things.
    I always love reading your blog!
    ~Shanon

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  8. lovely photos, look at that blue sky!

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  9. Oh, Sharon I had to come down to Kentucky on this snowy, snowy day up here. What beauty! Inspirational! I wanted to tell you, too, that I've ordered a book by Beth Powning, the writer you introduced me to, called Edge Seasons A Mid-Life Year.

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  10. Kath: That was the last of the blue sky for the week--the sun peered out this morning and scuttled back behind the clouds. Ture April weather.
    Nan: I've grumbled this week that garden work is postponed until showers stop and the ground dries out. J. reminded me of all our New England springtimes, to say nothing of those in WY--to think we complain over rain and 40 degree temps!

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