Some Flowers, mostly Green

In the background are sunflower seedlings that I transplanted a week or so ago.  They sprouted from last year though the birds ate most of the seeds.  I just moved them to where they wouldn't be in the way.  Sunflower seedlings are pretty delicate but if you move them when they are young and it is pretty cool and moist, most will survive.

I just like these violas.

Here we have more sunflower seedlings, with one that did not need to be transplanted.  Transplanting does set them back a bit.  They are surrounded by red mustard that still needs to be thinned.  I am tempted not to let any of it mature as I have had too much of it this year and last 2 years.

Cats

Sally has lost weight.  She has been diagnosed with cancer.  This will probably be her last year but she's doing all right now.

Abe is peeking from behind the swan.

The Cheddarhead loves sharpening his claws on the tree hydrangea.

I keep thinning my greens but they keep growing.  They've been really tasty.

Friend or Foe?

One problem I have is that as a lazy gardener that lets many things go to seed is too many children.  I must eat 50 of these tiny seedlings.  The same goes for arugula and red mustard.  I have lots of bok choi going too.  I forget what this is called.  I guess it is nicknamed 'beefsteak' for some reason and it has an unusual flavor, something I can eat but I don't like in large quantities.  Sometimes there are out and out weeds that still are edible and actually delicious when very young.  That'd be lambs quarters and the like.  And then there's the floral seedlings.  Calendula anyone?  Chamomile?  Yup, I've got tons of those too.

One Half

I keep forget which is 'stage left' or whatever.  I guess it doesn't matter.  There's half my yard sorta, starting with a view from the porch.

Next we have from the sidewalk facing east.  The terrace is filling out.

Beebalm emerges from the thalia.  There's also tons of calendula which I really should reduce by at least 75%.

And my frog prince is not yet obscured by vegetation.  I found him in the trash last year.  He's broken but enough remains that you can tell who he is.  I buried some bricks to slow the erosion on the side of the terrace that I din't really terrace.  There's lavender, snapdragons, pinks, other things there.  Mostly flowering perennials but some annuals already tucked in.

Pick my Brain

It is the time of year that people ask me questions.  I welcome them.  Please ask whatever and I will post hopefully with some lovely photos.

Here we have cascade hops erupting.  Methinks they need to be thinned.

Early Spring Random Photos

Abe in back looking handsome

Tulip bud

Lettuce, wild arugula and giant red mustard sprouts in the cracks of the sidewalk

Last year's onions will bloom shortly, with chaos in the background

Green Globe

I popped some plants into my old ball planter.  The onions were already in, that is they are the only thing that survived from last year so I left them.  This time I am going for les thirsty plants.  I poked in rosemary, lavender, and thyme.  I needed to fill it up with quite a bit of soil. 

Here is one of the lavenders.  It is quite tiny but that makes it better for this, if it survives.  It is still cool and rainy so perhaps it will settle in nicely before it gets warm.

There it is, just poked into the side.  I've got my fingers crossed.  I also poked in some corsican mint.  That I put towards the bottom as that gets less sun an the water flows there.

It's almost spring

And I have started working on the garden.  It's mostly ugly so I don't like taking photos, vain gardener that I am.  So far I have seen honeybees scouting for flowers.  I felt bad that I only had 2 scattered crocuses blooming, which they did not seem to find.  I also saw my 1st ladybug, on of the asian variety, but a ladybug just the same.  I also found 3 praying mantis eggsacks.  I can't remember their technical name but if you click on the mantis label below, you'll find that word as well as mantis uh... reproduction.  My narcissus are sprouting too, including some thalia bulbs I planted which may or may not bloom well after being exhausted like that.

I have great aspirations for my garden but it's going to take a few weeks before it starts to look good again.

Bulb vase

The composition of these photos isn't great but you can see what I am trying to do. This is my best thalia bloom this winter. I really like this vase and though I have had it for 2 years this is the 1st time a bulb I attempted to force in it has graced me with a bloom. This time I get 3! Thalia tend to have multiple blooms but this winter all of mine have had just 2 per bulb. So right now this one is at its peak.

Spring is coming soon. I will have natural blooms soon.

More Bulbs

These paperwhites are almost ready to bloom. A few days ago spring seemed near. Now I am comforted by my bulbs.

I love this hyacinth vase. It has been blooming for about a week, perfuming the air.

At the base of the stalk is another flower and...

another flower stalk. 2nd flower stalks are generally smaller and strangely shaped but they are still a bonus.

Melt

Hardly melt but I am an optimist. This is the result of letting things go.

This 1st picture shows kale, allysum, and calendula that so far have survived the winter. 2 months to go.

Here's another kale.

Here's the catnip cage showing that the catnip survived but catnip is not vulnerable to much except for cats.

And finally one of my favorites, a lovely leek. If this snow really melts I can harvest a few.

Houseplants

It is snowy out. I have changed to a mac instead of PC and everything looks different. I wonder if my old computer was dim. Anyway, this is the green in my life right now.

This goblet has Thalia narcissus. I forced these last year too. I actually forced a lot of them last year. This winter I didn't go as crazy with it.

Here's one of the garden plants, lemongrass, I am wintering indoors. Some are out while others are in the basement in the cold room.

This is a narcissus, unknown variety and a hyacinth. I really like this hyacinth vase. And this bulb has cooperated by rooting nicely. We'll see how well it blooms. I'm always on the look out for hyacinth vases at thrift stores. This one is unusual.

Bad Blogger

I haven't posted in a while.

There really isn't much to see except for lots of snow.

I will try to get back to this when it gets green again.

If I get feedback, it might prod me to post more.

Hello Again!

I seem to be neglecting this. Well here is the most recent image of myself with a 2nd harvest of red cabbage.

Next we have some fennel. I like fennel but at this point am annoyed by how much fennel I have had. Anyway, this fennel plant is impressive.

Here's several small cabbage head regrowth. They look like large brussel sprouts.

This turkey is coated with 5 squares of dark chocolate. It's my trial thanksgiving turkey. I believe the chocolate worked about the way I thought it would. It stayed adhered to the bird well and seemed to keep things moist.