Bulbs peeking up from the soil

Spring is coming tomorrow, TOMORROW, I have judged by the weather forecast, and I won't be talked out of it. I am very excited! It was an overall mild winter and I tried to embrace it, but now that it is over, I am willing to admit that I never liked it. Still, I will try again next winter.

But moving on: my bulbs are coming up! I cleared leaves off them today, and cleaned up some of the many, many, many twigs and branches that fell in our yard over the winter. And I turned the compost pile a bit, and added some deer poo from the yard. The matter is composting, albeit more slowly than it should, I'm sure because it gets very little sun.

Daffodils along the back wall

More daffodils along the back wall

Crocuses in the front, by the garage. This is also where I planted the tulips, quite deeply, and there is no sign of them yet.

Crocus along the walk in the front. It appears to have been chewed off by wildlife. Boooooo.

Daffodils by the front steps. I forgot I had even planted any there!

This is one of the red tulips that were already in front of our house, to the left of the steps as you face the house, when we moved in. It was literally growing through several leaves (so funny that the leaves didn't move out of the way!), so I pulled those off and moved the leaves aside - see below.

Some bad news: The wall in the back has started to fall down, on the northern end. We had some hard rains in the last couple months and I guess they proved too much for the wall. I suppose we will have to have the whole thing replaced at some point - my preference would be to put up something similar, using the same stones, because I do like the way the wall looks, and it photographs so nicely - I think it makes our yard look like a park in photos.

Tree pruning

This coming Tuesday, a crew from SavATree will be pruning our little forest - expensive but necessary. Their arborist Ryan Case is very nice and helpful.

We're also working with them to figure out cutting down the dying/compromised trees in the front and on the south side of the house, but meanwhile here's what's already scheduled:

General Tree Care
Location of plant material is from the perspective of main entry point and targets (trees and shrubs) are oriented in a clockwise direction. One (1) 22" DBH Oak, Chestnut (Quercus prinus), Rear Yard- Perform hazard reduction pruning to include crown cleaning of deadwood 2" in diameter and greater to reduce large falling deadwood. One (1) 28" DBH Oak, Red (Quercus rubra), Rear yard- Perform hazard reduction pruning to include crown cleaning of deadwood 2" in diameter and greater to reduce large falling deadwood. One (1) 14" Oak, Chestnut (Quercus prinus) Rear Yard- Perform maintenance pruning to include crown cleaning of deadwood 1" in diameter and greater to enhance health and aesthetics One (1) 25" DBH Tuliptree (Liriodendron tulipifera), Rear Yard- Perform hazard reduction pruning to include crown cleaning of deadwood 2" in diameter and greater to reduce large falling deadwood. One (1) 14" DBH Hickory, Bitternut (Carya cordiformis)-Rear yard- Perform maintenance pruning to include crown cleaning of deadwood 1" in diameter and greater to enhance health and aesthetics One (1) 50" DBH Oak, Red (Quercus rubra)-Rear yard- Perform hazard reduction pruning to include crown cleaning of deadwood 2" in diameter and greater to reduce large falling deadwood. Also, perform a weight reduction on several arching secondary limbs over/toward the roofline and upper right canopy. Also, perform installation of 2 steel cables to help provide supplemental support to the co-dominant leads. One (1) 26" DBH Oak, Pin (Quercus palustris)-Rear yard- Perform hazard reduction pruning to include crown cleaning of deadwood 2" in diameter and greater to reduce large falling deadwood. Plant Health Care ArborKelp Plus Treatment - Mid Season This unique biostimulant consists of sea kelp and other biologically active components, enhanced by additives prescribed by your arborist specifically for the needs of your landscape. This mixture is recommended for trees which are weakened by construction, insect damage or transplant shock.   Service Details:  1 Japanese Maple-Rear Yard

Snow much fun?

We had a lot of snow two weeks ago, and just when it finally all mostly melted, YESTERDAY, it is snowing again today, without much warning. I was taken completely by surprise. Where were all the hysterical doomsayers, running to the store for milk and toilet paper?

Anyway, this snow is much prettier than the last one, as it is settling on everything.

I am trying to love it. I really am.

High waters in the back yard

We had rain starting around midnight last night that continued on and off through this afternoon. Apparently part of the neighbors' landscaping is causing water to pour as if from a faucet under the fence and into our yard, and it wasn't all draining away. I took this video to help understand the problem even when it's not raining.

Seeds for spring

I just ordered a ton of seeds! If I can plant some of each, I'll be satisfied. Planting them all would be impossible! No doubt I will curse myself for it later.

LAVENDER VERA

$ 1.50

STRAWFLOWER - DWARF MIX HELICHRYSUM

$ 1.50

POPPY - CORAL REEF

$ 1.50

MINI BELLE BLEND PEPPER

$ 1.95

EARLY JALAPENO HOT PEPPER (HEIRLOOM, 66 DAYS)

$ 1.50

FORGET-ME-NOT

$ 1.50

FLAT LEAF PARSLEY

$ 1.50

ROSEMARY

$ 2.25

COMMON THYME

$ 1.50

Portulaca - Double Mixed

$ 1.25

ITALIANO CLASSICO BASIL

$ 1.50

BASILICO FINISSIMO VERDE A PALLA

$ 1.35

ALYSSUM - ROYAL CARPET

$ 1.25

Red-bellied woodpecker

Just had a red-bellied woodpecker right outside the solarium. Alas, I was not quick enough to get a picture, but there's no doubt about the species. Very pretty.

And speaking of pretty - I stumbled on this on the web:

Unrelated to pretty whatsoever, we had our gutters cleaned today, with no problems, by Reliant. The gutter guy, Jim, suggested that since we have some gutters that drain underground and go to the street, we might want to get some expensive gutter covers for those gutters.

Goodbye, leaves. Hello, fellow gardeners.

Today I hauled the last of the leaves* off to the dump. It felt very, very good. I was going to stir my compost but it was frozen. I also covered up the table and chairs, and removed the hose in front (the hose in back was already stored). So winter may come now.

It's not a crazy thing to say, because though it is Jan. 7, we've had just a few days of genuine cold so far. Barely even a frost before that!

On Monday, I went to a meeting of the Maplewood Garden Club (http://www.maplewoodgardenclub.org). Everyone was very nice, and there were dozens of them - mostly female and older. They were also kind of adorable - they raffle off books and other things that people want to give away, and they actually judge plants and flower arrangements at the meeting. I was kind of mystified by that. They do this every month! 

They had a speaker who was a landscape architect, and his presentation was very good - I was sort of riveted and with each design he presented, I re-did my own property in my head. Many good ideas.

One good tip I took away: it's okay to start a bed with mulch, but you want to be aiming over time to fill in with plants, not mulch.