You know what I'm stunned by?  The difference between these maps showing the average "last frost date",

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I am thinking that one of my plants did not in fact survive the winter.
Last spring I planted 2 columnar apple tees and a Juneberry bush in the front planting bed.  Keep in mind, columnars are varieties of apple that are designed to have a trunk, and minimal branches, growing the fruit very close to the main trunk. The nursery photos are a bit ( Read more... )

The illustrated addendum to the last post.

It's amazing how sweet little violets can be so much more striking than the fancy flowers like tulips.  This is my first tulip blossom of the year, and its competition.  Purple is definitely the spring feature, despite the fact that the tulips are front and center.

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Spring is springing ( Read more... )

Wow, what's up with me and why am I for 4 months totally not interested in livejournal?
I still read it, but the writing things push seems to have left my body.  No posting.  Huh.  Nothing personal, internets, I still love you!

In the aftermath of all the winter snowstorms, there's fun snow/ice damage around the garden, and a lot of trash that has ( Read more... )

Ordering bare-root plants was so unencouraging - they arrived US mail as a plastic-wrapped bundle less than 4" diameter, just a collection of sticks strapped to a stake, with one end wrapped in plastic baggies full of damp paper, and lots of tape. So, according to instructions, I stuck that end in the ground, and hoped for the best.

This is a ( Read more... )

In a week, it's like the garden is simultaneously going gangbusters, and hardly changing at all... tulips are blooming in front (in fact a couple are past), and are starting to come out at the side (part-shade).  The columbine and snapdragons are budding and barely stating to open; violets are blooming, and the lily of the valley are taking off, ( Read more... )