The deep snow is melting and there are signs of spring everywhere. One of my favorite things to watch for are violas I planted in years past that pop up and show color even in winter! Took this picture yesterday … icy but still showing color! #lovethespirit
We have survived the long, lonely winter with home projects, cleaning out drawers and closets, going through “collections” and doing a bit of sprucing up. This week a simple reorganizing of the guest room closet (which is very small) turned into a full blown project of painting and moving shelving.
Now it is time to get “full blown” into garden readiness. So more time in the potting shed it is. Time in the potting shed is good for the plants but it is OH SO good for the gardener. That tiny space and those projects bring immense joy. I think most, if not all of that joyful feeling comes from dirt… touching it and smelling it. Yes, dirt is quite magical! Are you with me?
First thing was to “pot up” the scented geranium cuttings I took last July. They have gotten huge. Last year I had several different varieties but decided to only winter over two since I have winter space issues — Attar of Rose and Rober’s Lemon Rose.
WINTER SOWING
Next was to try my hand at winter sowing in milk jugs that we talked about a few weeks ago. Read about that here.
In the cartons are …..
- Larkspur
- Sweet Willian
- Ammi: Dara
- Lavender
- Delphinium
Starting slow… if this works for me, I can see doing a ton of them next year!
I think this sprayer is awesome for seed starting. take a look here...
Mr. G is more than ready to start his outdoor projects which include removing a sick crabapple tree and “pruning” two 25+ year old honey locust trees. We still can’t believe how small they were when we planted them – they are huge now. So while he waits, he is being a rock star on “honey do” projects, building birdhouses, and coming up with ways we can discourage the deer who are becoming way tooooooo comfortable in our garden. We are using DEER NO NO from Gardener’s Supply and spraying with Liquid Fence. We are hoping that now that the snow is clearing maybe our repellents will be more effective! If you have ideas on “discouraging” deer, please let us know. They really MUST move on if we are to have a garden this year! These pictures are taken right out our back door and they are here most every night. 😩
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GREAT READ…
An article from New York Times column, In the Garden with Margaret Roach – The Smart Way to Grow Roses.
In this article Margaret shares many tips on rose selection and quotes from noted rosarian, former curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden in NYC, and gifted author Peter Kukeilski. Peter is a lovely person and the author of one of my favorite books to recommend, Roses Without Chemicals. He has a new book out, Rosa, that is on my list.
LATEST PODCAST…
I had the pleasure of chatting with Rebecca Koraytum of David Austin Roses last week. On the show, Rebecca brings us up to date on how things are going at David Austin Roses since the pandemic and talks about their new roses. She also shares her insights on emerging rose trends and gives us a verbal peek inside her personal rose garden! Listen Here.
More and more people are getting their vaccines giving us more and more hope of a world that will begin to open! First on our list of course will be getting to England!
I hope signs of spring are all around you and that you are knee deep in plans and projects! 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱
Saw a red winged. blackbird today. Sure sign of Spring.
That is sooooo fun. Love the signs of spring.
Deer are really rough on plantings, even blueberries. We use deer repellent when not in the rainy season.
The snow has melted and we are going to get to spraying consistently! It does seem to help. We have not seen deer in 3 days now. Hoping they are moving back to the woods! Take care!
We really have not had a bad winter this year (almost 70 degrees a couple of days this week); just seems it rains every weekend here in our area of VA. We were so lucky indeed to have not gotten ICE in other parts of VA like in Richmond, our capital. I love violas, and I did not know that they would come back. Think mine die back when it gets hot like the pansies do. The deer will eat almost anything in your garden, and they may return to it when it gets warmer. Maybe you should put up some electric fencing or some activated outdoor lighting that might scare them away at night. They will eat your lily buds, hosta buds, azaleas, and roses. Guess their habitat is being destroyed as they seem to be everywhere in neighborhoods. They are hungry! I have beautiful camellias in bloom as they prefer cold weather, and I have a small bouquet of sweet little yellow daffodils in bloom. Think they may be Yellow Cheerfulness. We have all kinds of birds at our feeders, even a Baltimore Oriole. Praying that the bluebirds will return. No robins just yet. Stay well, be safe, and keep warm. I have seen a honey bee recently as of this morning.
There are new neighborhoods springing up all around us and I am sure they are being squeezed out. They are big and hungry! For the first time I ever remember, we have had Bluebirds active at our feeders all winter! Hope they choose one of our houses and raise their families!
I use Plantskydd. It is organic, stinky and it does work. Lasts up to 6 mos. but we get a lot of winter rain so doesn’t last that long for me. It’s best to spray before the deer start nibbling your plants. Last year they cleared my one azalea of all its buds :~( N. Ga mtns experiencing spring like weather in late Feb. Really enjoy The Garden Diary and photos of your garden. Mine is a work in progress…but I guess aren’t they all.
Hello Dee, Thanks for the product recommendation. So good to know what is working for others. The past 3 night there have been NO deer. I am hoping they are happy somewhere else! 🙂
A Biblical quote for 2021 that you may want to use in your next blog. “But this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” (Philippians 3:13). (Sent on Tues., 03-02-2021)
A beautiful scripture …. moving forward to all that God has for us.