A few things were starting to show signs of life.... poppies, columbine, daffodils.....

Then it snowed today and everything is covered with an inch of snow. **sigh** I am so ready for spring.....

Still physically limited, but got some raking done, and I put down mole/vole repellent, hoping it will do some good.

I actually watered the beds over the weekend, it was so dry. Guess the rain last night helped a bit, lol.

Hoping to get my raised beds ready for seedlings by the end of the week (not actually transplant the seedlings yet, but get the beds cleaned up and amended, etc.)

Belle, I thought this year I would pay a little attention to my so-called lawn, but the way I'm going, it may end up being a fall project, lol!

Oh, and I pulled out more potted perennials from the garage. I think I have about 150 out of the 200 that were in there outside now. I pulled out a few roses too, but pulled them back in again when I heard the forecast for snow tonight!

Still winter-sowing too. Put out some more veggies today, and hoping to get my morning glories and sweet peas out tomorrow.

:)
Dee

Cut cotoneasters waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. Pulled out tons of vinca. Found more cotoneaster underneath and cut it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. Made room for Hellebores, which I must get lots of! Cleaned up beds. Mentally rearranged everything. Again. Put down mole/vole repellent. Contemplated Milky Spore. Is this the right time? Ordered rain barrels.
What a wonderful season!
ML

mayalena, I put down some milky spore last year, starting in September. I didn't finish because it got too cold, and I will be putting down more this spring. Ideally it should be put down at a certain temperature, and unfortunately I can't remember off the top of my head what that temp is, but I would wait until it's warmer than it is now. This stuff is too expensive to not use effectively.

This morning I cleaned snow off my car! Not exactly an "in the garden" chore, lol, but certainly one I wasn't expecting to have to do after last week's weather!

:)
Dee

Hi Dee.
I think I recall that it's one of those "when the forsythia blooms" chores. So...I was thinking of doing it now but, like you, I am remembering that the soil should be a certain temperature -- possibly between 50 and 70? So I will wait a week or so...until I google it and find the answer! I'll let you know if I do....
ML

Me again, Dee. A quick 'google' suggests that I should do it when the ground is "warm". Also, apparently grubs feed much more heavily in fall, so they ingest more milky spore in the fall. Maybe I'll wait til September?
ML

This morning as I looked out my kitchen window at the forsythia, that seemed to blossom out of nowhere, it started snowing. I still have lots of cleanup that I do a little at a time after coming home from work. I did uncover the bulbs though. My sister-in-law had given me a gift certificate from White Flower Farm and my order came yesterday. It is a small order and everything is potted, so I just put them on my sunporch for now.

And to think I almost took my snow scraper out of the car after those 70 degree days!

The tulips and globemster bulb (from the Ferry-Morse sale) we put in the ground at our new house last fall are starting to come up, and lots of things from the CT swap are showing signs of growth. WooHoo!!

We transplanted some heirloom tomatos from seed flats into 5 inch tall plastic cups.

Built a small bed for lettuce, broccoli, radishes. Planted seeds.

Finished the gates on the compost bin.

Bought some Peonies at Walmart, then found out on the Peony forum that they are best put into the ground in the fall so potted them up in 1 gallon pots.

Hacked up and raked out roots, vines and overgrown brush in part of the yard that hadn't been touched in years.

This month's NECPS meeting is tentatiely at Logees, so we're getting psyched up about that!!

Here is a link that might be useful: NECPS

LOL, mayalena, that's what kept coming to mind when I was typing my previous post - that the ground should be "warm"!! Uh, could they be a bit more specific, lol? I think I remember hearing that the fall is better, but I don't think it would be "bad" to put it down now. I guess I should get off my butt and go into my cramped, crowded (cold) garage and find the darn can and read it, huh? LOL!

:)
Dee

Sifted compost and spread it around some newer mixed beds. I really just needed the space, those 3-section compost bin systems are actually one section too few, no matter how big the sections are. Made a mental note that when building my next one, I'll remember that each bin should be slightly smaller than the previous one. Kind of a no-brainer, but I never remember it until a few seasons into using the bins.

I also dug up some volunteers that grew all last season in bad places - rose campion in a line of boxwood, big yellow snapdragon on the edge of the front path ... that kind of thing. You kind of hate to move smething that you love, that took the initiative to pop up of its own volition, but at some point you just ahve to pull rank and show these plants that you are, at least nominally, in control of the garden.

Got my first case of tendonitis of the season. It's bad enough that I can't shift my car with my right hand, which means it's ALMOST bad enough to keep me out of the garden.

And, I spent many hours walking around the vicinity of the back door trying to finalize plans for a new paved seating area. I'd love to be able to plop down on a patio right outside the door, but the "profile" of the back of my house doesn't really allow that, because of additions and bulkheads and a mini-deck at the door. So, I'm going to have to figure out a way to provide the sense of partial enclosure that the house walls normally provide, somewhere away from the house. The actual bricklaying will be the easy part, it's figuring out where everything will work that I find really difficult.

I walked around the yard a couple of times.

Then I walked around the yard with the landscaper, who detailed the French drain project and the stump pulling/brush leveling project that, combined, will involve 3/4 of the yard.

Other than digging up and potting plants I hope to save, I probably won't be doing too much in too many gardens this year! I will get my nicely finished compost down on whatever garden might not get nuked in this project.

I also discovered, finally! where columbines and delphiniums will grow in my yard. Only they're going to have to be moved to temporary homes, too, LOL.

Ooh, drippy, I feel your pain. Been there, many times, although with excavators rather than landscapers.

DtD, what a great idea, having the bins smaller than the previous! Well, if it is a no-brainer, I must not have a brain, lol, because I never thought of it! Will definitely keep it in mind!

Good luck with project drippy! Keep thinking of the outcome and you'll get through it.

:)
Dee

Started work on the shade garden I was going to make last year!
It's a wet area alongside the woods in my front yard.
I raked up the leaves and sploshed in the mud. Got rid of barberries--grrr! Had DH & Son#1 digging up stumps--they just love my hobby!
There are a few perennials there that I need to dig up and
then I'm going to bring in all new soil because there are too many roots to dig.
Say-one of the perennials I wanted to keep is jack-in-the-pulpet. Anyone know if they are fussy about being disturbed?
Also, any suggestions for a pretty shrub that likes shade and moist ground? It's a morning sun/pm shade spot.

Oh and my housework has already given way to gardening--Yikes!