It is still February, I know, but it has been quite warm the last few weeks, and the Forsythia is blooming.  

 

I’ve seen some around the neighborhood, and around town, mostly blooming.  

 

We are fortunate enough to have some blooms, because the tops of the bushes are out of reach of the deer.  The bottoms of the bushes are bare, but the tops are really pretty.  And they look like sunshine when we look out there.  

 

Next, we will be looking for the daffodils to begin blooming.  More sunshine.

 

HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!

 

 

 

No, really.  Isn’t this magnificent!!!  I couldn’t help myself.  You needed to see her in FULL bloom.

 

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

 

They are opening, a little more each day.  SO GORGEOUS, but tough to get all eight blooms in the same picture.  

 

I love this one.

 

HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!

 

Remember the beautiful Amaryllis that Priscilla gave me for Christmas?  Well, it is getting ready to bloom again!!!

 

Two stalks with 4 flower buds each!!!  I’ll show you again when they open.

 

What a sweet treat in the middle of winter.

 

HAPPY FEBRUARY!!!

 

I got my Brent and Becky’s catalog the other day.  Yay!!!  

 

So many pretty pictures, and great information about all the plants in the catalog.  Information includes sun requirements, drought tolerance, critter resistance, and pollinator friendliness.  

 

You can get one too;  just go to https://brentandbeckysbulbs.com/?v=7516fd43adaa

and request a catalog on the home page.  

 

I lost a few plants during that Christmas freeze;  maybe I will replace them with bulbs.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

Have you heard this Old Wives Tale?  Ten days after a thunderstorm in the winter, it will snow.  

 

Well, on January third we had a thunderstorm, and on Friday, January thirteenth it snowed.  My sisters had thunder storms on the third, but no snow on the thirteenth.  They live in Virginia and Mississippi.  It snowed here in the mountains, so maybe it is a mountain old wives tale.

 

There wasn't enough snow to make a snowman, or go sledding down the road, but it was pretty enough to take pictures.  Thought you'd like to see the garden in the snow.  Can't wait for more.

 

HAPPY JANUARY!!!

 

Just thought you'd like to know, when I went out to the compost bin yesterday, I noticed my daffodils starting to come up.

 

It is early, I know, but I think it is time for them to start emerging. And the best part is:  the deer don't eat them.

 

This makes me so happy.  I love knowing that we will have daffodils soon.  OK, maybe not real soon, but soon enough.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is what's left in the garden:  10 ft. tall stakes for the sunflowers.  Jon had to use the 8 ft. ladder this past summer to install the stakes.  So instead of going through that process every year, we will just plant the seeds next to the stakes, and be happy with that.  We love our sunflowers.

 

Oh, yeah, there is also garlic out there, but there's nothing to see yet.  The cloves are 2 inches under the ground and mulched with another 3 inches of leaves.

 

So everybody here is taking a little rest from gardening.  

 

HAPPY JANUARY!!!

 

 

 

This picture is from last week's snow and freezing weather.  See the Brussels sprouts?

 

I reported last week that the kale was sad, but not dead.  Brussels sprouts were in that same boat:  sad, but not dead.  Well, just a few days later, after the freeze, we noticed everything in the garden was beige, and rubbery.  DEAD!!!  And the whole garden smelled like we were cooking collards.  It was weird.  

 

We learned first hand that Brassicas can take a little frost, but not a freeze.  

 

Oh, well.  We cut them all down, and put them on the giant compost pile.  And we will start again in the spring.  AFTER the frost date.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Last week when we knew it was going to get really cold, I went out to the garden and harvested a few things:  a couple 

Savoy cabbages, and the tops out of a couple Brussels Sprouts.  Here is the biggest, prettiest one.

 

The leaves are edible, just like kale, so we processed them, and put them in the fridge.  Interesting:  by cutting out the top, it forces the Brussels sprout to pop out along the stems.  

 

We'll see.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!