Garden Blogger's Bloom Day: Crocuses!

Welcome, friends!

I'm a little bit late to the party this month, but these beauties are definitely early!

 

Crocuses blooming in February?

Unheard of around these parts.

Usually we're still under 2 feet of snow at this time of year.

I was looking back at last year, and these are a full month earlier than normal.

 

We're enjoying weather in the 50's most days, with it only freezing every now and then.

These were taken a few days ago.

There are even more now.

Even with a warm winter, crocuses cheer me right up every time I see them!

 

To see even more blooms today, go to May Dreams Gardens.

 

 

Winter Walk: Hibernating Ladbyugs

 

I use the term "winter" quite loosely, as this is the most mild winter we've had since moving here.

It hasn't even been freezing at night for the past couple of weeks.

We've been up in the 50's during the days.

 

Just look we found at the cattail park!

 

I've never really seen ladybugs hibernating like this.

It was amazing and wonderful!

There was a wood chip path, with this dead, weedy grass all along it, with these huge clumps of ladybugs all along it as well.

 

These little adventurers were thrilled!

(Mine is the one on the left in the heart sweatshirt.)

Plans Afoot: East Flowerbed

 

Over the past few weeks, my plans for filling in the east-side terrace have pretty much solidified.
 

view from the deck, looking toward the front

 

Here's the overall idea:

2 fruit trees, on semi-dwarf or dwarf rootstock, one on each end

** My top 2 choices are cherry or pear. I want cherry pretty bad, but looking at the list of diseases and pests is rather daunting. Pears would definitely be easier (probably).

What I like about either option is the versatility of the fruit.

We could eat them fresh, dried, or canned.

 

6-8 foot section of flowerbed

My vision for this is frothy, billowing type perennials, in all shades of purple with white accents. Perhaps some other pastels would also be allowed--pale pinks, etc.

Catmint, Queen Anne's lace, daisies, bellflowers, and so on.

 

view from the deck, looking toward the back

 

8-10 foot section for lilacs

I really want some height, and doggone it, I want some lilacs!

The poor long-suffering lilac on the slope will be moved down and given proper drainage. I'm not sure why I planted that on our clay slope in the first place. The only thing I can figure is that I must have thought adding compost to the planting hole would be sufficient to provide "well-drained" soil.

Obviously, that has not been the case. It has grown a few inches since I put it in 4 years ago. Maybe.

It has never flowered.

So, anyway, that will be moved down. I want to add 2 more, as well.

I plant to put them 3-4 feet apart. Not so close that they form a really dense hedge that I'll forever have to be pruning and clipping, but close enough to grow together around the edges.

 

I want to leave a generous area around the base of the trees, to provide room for picking as they grow, without tromping on flowers. Mulch under the trees will be bigger pieces of bark, the "medium" mulch I purchased accidentally last year.

 

the length of the bed, with garden in the background
 

So, jobs to do before this all happens:

1. Take out perennial weeds.

2. Rototill well. (Soil should be pretty good already. I will add grit or sand to the lilac planting area.) 

3. Purchase trees, and lilacs.

4. Decide what I've already got that could be used. Divide perennials, transplant lilac from slope.

4. Purchase flowers as needed to fill-in gaps.

5. Mulch all.

 

It has been so warm this winter!  If the weather holds out this week, I'm going to start on the weeding and rototilling.

Ready, set, go!