eastern lake ontario :
there should be snow on the ground ... but the grass is as green as in may !
even had some sunshine today , but the wind is coming across the lake and it's rather damp .
it's supposedd to be below freezing next week AND sunshine has been promised with the colder air ! that should be rather nice .
hbg
East side of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.
40 degrees F today and a steady drizzle all Christmas day. A fine day to have a brunch and then take a nap in preparation for a full dinner.
A couple of days ago I got my first Spring seed catalog (Park's out of South Carolina). I filled out a wish list that totaled a whole lot of money. Far too much money.
But last year 2005-2006 early, we finished the Rio Station project on my 3 plus acres. We redid the 80 year old main house and the equally old cottage that had been a general store, and we tucked in some townhouses.
I never did anything with flower beds last year. But wait until this next year.
I have about a half acre of vacant land plus plenty of space available for flower beds and I have a couple or three yardboys eager for some work before the winter sets in. Did I ever mention that Johnboy was recognized, tongue in cheek, as the largest employer of Goths in Charlottesville between Rio Station and my retail stores.
Anyway, Spring will come and we are going to be ready!
Here around Austin, TX it's cold (40 degrees) and rainy. But, we put a sheet over the pansies and snapdraggons at night and they're beautiful with all that color right outside the window. We watch over the wildflowers planted 1st of November in the field in back -- the green heads are peeping from the weeds -- hope they make it up next spring!
The hedge as of a year ago today, lilacs (L), and privet (R):
click photo for today's look. The privet hedge is supposed to be a backdrop for tall peonies, and will be kept to about 4-5 feet tall. The lilacs will be kept to about six feet. still some way to go, but it's taking definite shape. Give it a couple of more years. All grown from rooted sucker divisions.
I've noticed by pure chance today in mother's garden (my old home) ...
... that the snowdrops are already there
I was quite pleased, however, that the damages by the heavy storm were less than I thaught (the apple/pear trees are more than 100 years old!)
We're a few months away for snowdrops, Walter; this is the scene here this morning -- a couple of inches of snow fell overnight.
Those hundred- year-old pear trees must make an impressive sight while in bloom.
BBB
Yesterday I tried to shovel and break up the icy snow remaining on my plants in the front yard. We are expecting at least 8 to 12 inches of snow later today. Stocked up on dog food and me food as I expect to be snowed in for the next week. Have tickets for a concert Sunday but don't expect to be able to drive to the concert hall.
Snow, show, go away. Don't even think about coming back another day!
BBB
BBB
Yesterday I tried to shovel and break up the icy snow remaining on my plants in the front yard. We are expecting at least 8 to 12 inches of snow later today in Albuquerque. Stocked up on dog food and me food as I expect to be snowed in for the next week. Have tickets for a concert Sunday but don't expect to be able to drive to the concert hall.
Snow, show, go away. Don't even think about coming back another day!
BBB
eastern lake ontario :
we had about 5-10 cm of snow overnight and it sure looks beautiful .
weather is supposed to be a little more normal with overnight lows of about minus 10 C .
it's 4:20 pm and i can still the sun - hurray ! spring is on the way
suits us just fine !
hbg
The apple tree up front as of today:
Click photo for its look last spring.
two views of our garden :
1) outside the house ,
2) inside the house .
right now we prefer the inside garden with a temperatur of plus 21 C ;
the outside garden right now has a temperatur of MINUS 15 C ;
so we've decided to enjoy the inside garden for the time being .
hard to believe that in another five months we'll likely want to sit in the shade .
hbg
thumbnails , pls click
As a complete contrast to hamburgers post.....
I took some photos of mums garden a few days ago. mum is a keen and respected gardener within her wide circle of friends.
The drought is taking its toll as can be seen. restrictions on water use are at stage 4 and have been for some time. stage 4 means no water from the reticulated (town) supply for any purpouse apart from drinking or personal hygiene.
Dads veggie patch is being kept alive by several bucket loads of bore water from a kind neighbour.
They are watering some plants and pot plants with recycled water from the washing machine.
Good thing you planted natives.
Many (in fact most) are not native. (Mums old school garden). we are bringing her round and she does have some callistemons across the back fence. I think she can see the value now.
We are used to plants that have been selected and bred for hundreds of years for markets in the northern hemisphere, Its really only in the last 20 years or so that small markets have developed for enhanced natives.
so what non-natives are working well even with the drought?
How's this for contrast--
This is how it looks outside as of right now, and it's what I want the groundhog to see.
littlek wrote:so what non-natives are working well even with the drought?
Grey leaves such as lavender.
South african plants (protea) because they are so similar to our own.
Some of the mediterainian plants.
Bulbs
eastern lake ontario : that's what our garden looked like saturday afternoon - snowsqualls coming off lake ontario .
today we have a good foot of snow on the ground , high today minus 12 C , overnight minus 20 C ; it's supposed to stay cold for the next two weeks .
have to do a little shovelling this afternoon .
hbg
thumbnail- pls click
SEED BALLS This is really cool if it works. I wonder if anyone here has tried it. A lady came into my art supply store today and asked if we had terra cotta clay. It took us a minute or so to get on the same page, with me finally asking what she wanted do with the clay. She replied that she was making seed balls.
Here is her plan. She takes clay, enough to make something about the size of a golf ball, flattens it out, sprinkles some annual or perennial seeds on top, and then rolls it into a ball. At an appropriate time (I guess in early spring) she flings the balls into areas where she wants informal growth of flowers, as opposed to formal beds.
The theory is that the water-based clay will break down as the seeds germinate. Birds won't gobble them up, and there you go. Awesome if it works and incredibly cheap.
I built a 5-unit townhouse project on my 3 acres. I left, by design, a lot of slope around the property. None of this level-the-ground-to-perfectly flat. There are some swathes where the underground utilities go, meaning I can't plant trees. This would work so well for establishing wildflower colonies (like Gloriosa Daisy).
She said that she had tried it last year, but with mixed results. But she is going to try again and I will be trying it also.
I used to specify a lot of Callistemons in California... LA is actually a semi-arid desert.
