Spring has sprung. We have returned from the sunny south and the garden is waking up.

The above photos are the nice things that are happening. Unfortunately, I discovered that my 3 orange deciduous rhododendrons are covered in scale. Absolutely covered. I decided I needed to remove them. I started with the chainsaw and broke the chain. Then I moved on to the sawzall. That worked pretty well. I decided to leave one plant to see if it will make a come back and “hoick out” the other two.

Downside: a sore back and two beautiful shrubs gone. Upside: lots of space to move crowded plants into. The grass is getting green. The epimedium are almost ready to pop and …….we might have snow on Friday. The gardener sighs.

Spring is here. According to the calendar, and according to weather reports it sure looks like spring weather is here as well. There are reports of spring peepers. Will it last? Who knows. We usually get a tease or two of warm weather and then just when plants are up and sometimes even blooming, we get a snow in April or a big freeze and that messes everything up. We will have to see.

I’m writing this from afar so I can’t go out and actually look at the garden and send photos of shoots or buds. Are the daffodils up yet? Is the forsythia budding? Are the crocuses up and being eaten by rabbits? Did the voles return and eat everything over the winter? Did the deer break through the barriers and nibble the azalea buds? Have the bears come out of hibernation and torn down the bird feeders hoping for a few old seeds left behind? Those questions and more will have to wait a couple more weeks to be answered. There is work being done in the house while we are gone, and its not quite ready for us to come back yet. There will be much to see when we return, both inside and out.

In the meantime, we will enjoy a bit more of the ocean and warmth. This spring feels more hopeful than last year’s did. I look forward to seeing my gardening friends again in person and getting on with life.

Happy Spring!

The garden is resting under a huge pile of snow. That’s actually good at the moment because it will insulate the plants from all the bitter cold. The voles are probably enjoying the cover as well and munching away happily. Grrrr.

In the meantime, I have escaped from all the snow and cold and am enjoying some warmth and sunshine in Florida. I thought I would share some photos from our area and hope they warm you up as well.

More later……

Its a frosty morning in these parts, but our snow is sadly gone. It was washed away by the rains last week, however I am sure there will be more to come.

I received new bluebird houses and a feeder for Christmas, and we put them up a couple days ago. We had two really old houses already, and they were cleaned those up as well. It didn’t take long for a flock of bluebirds to come by and inspect the new digs as well as the remodeling of the old ones.

Perhaps the bluebirds of happiness will be harbingers of a wonderful 2021.

Cheers!

The garden is resting, of course. However, there is always activity in the yard. This crew came through the other day and nibbled on the clematis growing up a tree trunk. Time to put burlap around it.

The gray squirrels have perfected ingenious methods of getting to the birdseed.

Even though the gardens are resting, my garden club stays active decorating planters around town. This one is at the Police Station.

A week ago we had about 4-5 inches of snow. It was heavy and wet.

We lost a big limb off the willow

View of the full moon from the porch

Luckily, I got the outdoor lights up before it snowed

Sunrise on a snowy garden

Merry Christmas

We have had a wild couple of weather weeks. First the snow, then warm days in the 70’s and now reality has returned. Twenty-five degrees this morning. I took advantage of the warm days and got most of the garden clean-up done. Dahlias are now dug, dried and put away. The elephant ears and brugmansia are hibernating in the basement.

We always mow the meadow once a year

We had some tree work done

So everything is resting. No more blooms until spring but as usual there will still be beauty during the winter months.

Happy Halloween. It snowed yesterday. Not just a few flakes , but real snow – about 3-4 inches worth. There are still leaves on many of the trees so its a surreal world out in the garden this morning. Luckily I spent a lot of time last week working outside, cutting back perennials, tidying up the veggie garden etc. There is still work to do. It is 19 degrees this morning, but the snow will melt and we will be back into the 50’s and 60’s in a few days. Meanwhile….

And then……..

Tonight we set back the clocks, tomorrow is November. There is still much to do before winter sets in for good.

We got an inch of blessed rain the other day. We need more but it was wonderful to have a rainy day. The garden soldiers on through the drought with asters, mums, and other fall color. We have had visitors of course.

I refurbished some of my hypertufa troughs – silver saxifrages needed dividing

The fall foliage this year is glorious despite the drought. But it doesn’t seem to be lasting long. We get a quick blaze of color and then the leaves dry out and drop. For those who don’t live in New England – here’s a taste.

Well there goes summer. We had some light frost a few days ago and now have a few days of warmth – what we called Indian Summer when we were kids. Hummingbirds have gone, but we have seen bluebirds. Cardinals, chickadees, finches, nuthatches, titmice and “ahem” chipmunks are visiting the feeders. We put them out last week, but bring them in at night since the black bears are around and fattening up for winter. The drought continues, so I have had to resort to hand watering in order to keep many plants alive.

The meadow is in full autumn glory with goldenrod and many different asters. Butterflies and bees are stocking up for the season ahead as well.

And finally, it is apple season – so I baked a pie…..

It is mid-August, and we are really dry. It seems that the t-storms go north or south of us – very frustrating. The garden always looks a bit tired this time of year anyway, but it has been a challenge keeping plants alive through the heat and lack of rainfall. I have spent a lot of time hauling hoses around and trying to keep things watered. Weeding is not happening.

Hopefully the drought will be over soon, but in the meantime, I’ll enjoy the rest of the summer and worry about the weeding and other chores in September.