Today I went to my February posts last year, trying to figure out what was going on in the garden last year. To my surprise, there weren't any. After a frost in January, I didn't post again until late April. It is understandable. Even though it is 80 degrees out, it is still very much winter and a frost is just a day away. Last year I was smart enough to know this. This year, my impatience for a beautiful garden got the best of me and I planted many plants way too early. Now I’m a big bundle of stress, worrying about my babies. Urrggh. This week we were hit by the same weather system that hit most of the country and we’ve had three solid days of rain. Tonight there will be yet another freeze. I couldn’t live up north, this is killing me. I don’t know how I’ll wait until the end of this month, my last frost date. If you are interested in your last frost date, this is a good site: http://www.victoryseeds.com/frost/
reBlogged
Posted by Wicked Gardener Reblogged by Old Roses to on 2008-03-11, 00:14:26
We certainly had a lot of snow form the storm of the past couple of days, but there is no use complaining about it. Now we just have to sit back and admire the beauty it has created. . . .
Rosemary Thriving In The Greenhouse Despite Single Digit Temps
This was supposed to be a quick post about one little plant in the greenhouse and a new lamb recipe on my food and farm blog, Farmgirl Fare, but somehow it turned into a rambling rosemary learning experience. Now if only I could get my rosemary to ramble this much. . . .
Some home owners avoid growing mint because it tends to spread all over the place. Well I say let it spread. You can never have enough mint. And does anyone know where I can find a hardy lime tree?
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to mint
Posted by Anthony Reblogged by Old Roses to mint on 2008-03-11, 00:11:47
The photo yesterday from the Bottom of the Allotment plot looking up. The compost bin to the right belongs to Mr Saddiq, the guy who wons the first third of the plot! At the top left is the most enormous bramble bush that runs for eighty foot across. . . .
During this time of the year lots of trees flower in Caracas with dense yellow flowers. Today I found four examples of these spectacular tress within three blocks in Altamira. People always say these are Araguaey, the national tree of Venezuela, but there are two tyes, Araguaney and Acapro. It's hard (at least for me) to tell them apart, but Araguaney is not as tall, seldom reaching more than 20 meters. Above four pictures of these beautiful trees at their most spectacular time. My guess is that only the lower one on the right is a true Araguaney, the remainder were taller than 20 meters.
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to trees
on Mar 9, 2008, 9:41PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to trees on 2008-03-11, 00:09:23
Ok, so spring isn't for another week or so, but it really feels like it here. We had a mild cold front, the one that dumped 8" of snow in north Texas a few days ago, but
it still feels so very nice out. It was my first weekend home for awhile so I enjoyed it by sleeping in and doing errands and Chris took off to Delray Beach to do some
photography. Apparently the birds think it is spring as well. All the little nests are full of chicks!
Yes, this momma anhinga is engulfing the babies! They are feeding! Isn't that the cutest, and slightly grossest thing?. . .
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to spring birds
on Dec 31, 1969, 6:59PM
Posted by Reblogged by Old Roses to birds, spring on 2008-03-11, 00:08:05
Thursday and Friday were days of torrential downpours. Good for removing the rain deficit, but also good for flooding and knocking over trees in saturated ground. Also, Friday, during one batch of heavy rain, I looked out and saw the most pathetic and bedraggled goldfinch on the feeder sock. Poor wet thing. . . .
There is nothing more reviving to a gardener (especially in the throes of late winter) as the smell of dirt. Many of us start our seeds WAY too early and I don’t think the reason for this is to be planting seeds. I am willing to bet it is the smell of dirt. We start seeds to early because we need the smell of dirt. . . .
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to soil
on Mar 9, 2008, 8:21PM
Posted by Hanna Reblogged by Old Roses to soil on 2008-03-11, 00:07:02
If you are considering moving plants from your home to another country it is always advisable to contact the customs authority to receive advice about allowed and prohibited materials. This is the advice from DEFRA about U.K. to Spain. . .
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to plants
Posted by Colin & Carol Reblogged by Old Roses to plants on 2008-03-11, 00:06:39
This tall poinsettia was growing in the garden of the Bahia Palace in Marrakech. It must have been 15' tall. A far cry from our little Christmas plants! As a grower of houseplants in a northern climate, I find it very amusing to travel to these plant's native lands and see the plant as it is meant to grow. . . .
A breezy morning here at Vermont Flowerless Farm. We're at 1530 feet elevation and the wind has had no problem blowing us silly for the past 24 hours. We have no idea how much rain we received but as we repeatedly tried to get to sleep last night, it continued to pound the roof and house. It was 14 degrees at 5:30 this morning, a drop of more than 30 degrees since yesterday afternoon. The large drops of snow in Ohio, Kentucky, and western New York never made it here but we did receive a couple inches of snow on top of glare ice at breakfast time which made walking Karl the wonder dog a difficult feat for his feet and mine!. . .
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to lilies
Posted by George Africa Reblogged by Old Roses to lilies on 2008-03-11, 00:05:17
So today the goldfinches came back. The female stayed at the feeder as I came out and sat down, and filled up on nyjer seed while I watched her. Either she's been habituated to people, or she was really hungry. . . .
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to birds
on Mar 9, 2008, 7:46PM
Posted by Jenn Reblogged by Old Roses to birds on 2008-03-11, 00:04:52
It rained non-stop all day yesterday. We seemed to have been firmly into dry season, so the rain was welcomed by me. Checking the Blogicito's archives, I see that we had three days of heavy rain at just about this same time last year. . .
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to weather
on Mar 9, 2008, 2:01PM
Posted by La Gringa Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2008-03-11, 00:04:33
Now your worms have been working hard eating, pooping, and reproducing so now it is time to harvest the fruits of their labor (worm castings) There are a few methods to harvest worm castings so I will briefly describe a few. . .
It’s hard to believe that in only a month and a half or so I’ll be looking at scenes like this in my front yard. The picture above is of tulips in bloom beside the previous autumns dried up Sedum flower heads. I’d neglected to remove the dried Sedum flowers in the fall and frankly I tend not to remove them as I think they look nice in the winter garden, however I was behind last spring as I’ve usually removed them by the time the tulips are in full bloom! The greenery behind the flowers are clumps of day lilies, not yet blooming, in my planted boulevard garden. . .
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to spring
on Mar 9, 2008, 12:52AM
Posted by Tricia Reblogged by Old Roses to spring on 2008-03-11, 00:01:49
I am not a fan of Daylight Saving Time, but I learned more about it from this site than I thought there was to learn. I guess the real question is how does the time change affect your gardening? If...
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to weather
on Mar 9, 2008, 3:09PM
Posted by Kathy Purdy Reblogged by Old Roses to weather on 2008-03-11, 00:01:03
These two pictures were taken at Wave Hill last summer. The sunlight was lighting the golden foliage nicely. I like plants with golden foliage for accents in the garden. Over the years I have become more and more agreeable to having yellow in the garden. When I was growing up our nursery grew large crops of Geraniums and it is amazing to me the cultivars and choices that are available today. Here is a link to a big grower of different fancy types. I am not sure about their customer service or their plants but the have an extraordinary collection offered. . . .
via Our Little Acre on 1969-12-31, 19:00:00
There is nothing more reviving to a gardener (especially in the throes of late winter) as the smell of dirt. Many of us start our seeds WAY too early and I don’t think the reason for this is to be planting seeds. I am willing to bet it is the smell of dirt. We start seeds to early because we need the smell of dirt. . . . 
