Upgrades

Upgrade #1: I got a new Sneebor garden trowel for Christmas (yes, I picked it out and ordered it myself).  These tools are amazing: strong, sharp and a pleasure to use.  I got a Sneebor rock garden trowel last summer and it quickly became indispensable to me.  I'm going to give away all of the other cheap trowels that I've amassed over the years.

Upgrade #2: I rebuilt one of the molds that I use to cast the large rectangular hypertufa troughs with feet.  The old mold was at least 6 years old and well past the end of its life.  I kept using it last summer but ran ratchet straps around it in case it failed.  This one is stronger and better designed than its predecessors.  I'd like to try it out next weekend.  Never mind the arrows, by the way. I reused lumber from an old crate.  The inside mold is kind of like a magic box; it folds in on itself for easy removal.

Upgrade #3: More crocuses.  I've been relentlessly dividing and transplanting my Tommy crocuses over the last couple years.  I've got a few big patches going now; a detail of one is above.

The bees were all over them today.  Their buzzing was so loud that I couldn't place the sound at first.  I forget every year that the bees are out as early as the first flowers.

Garden Chores #1 and 2

I was out Saturday doing what's always the first chore of the garden: cutting down the grasses.  I've learned not to wait too long to do this because the new grass starts growing earlier than one thinks.  As I positioned myself and the buck saw (the culms are thick!) to chop down the Ravenna grass, I thought I spied a piece of trash out of the corner of my eye.  It was the first crocuses of the year, of course.

Our garden has the 'new haircut' look, with awkward grass stumps everywhere.  My compost pile looks like a Monet haystack.  I realize looking at the grasses that more than half of the clumps are large enough to split.  Yeah!

Sunday I started the traditional second chore of the year: cutting off the old foliage of the hellebores. I amazed at how many I have now.  I'm always finding space to plant out seedlings, especially the purple ones.  After a few years, I get to see the new (blooming) faces.

The climbing hydrangea has a shadow twin these days.

Crazy Winter

Zero degrees Sunday morning.

Heavy, wet snow yesterday. 

Predicted high of 55 degrees today.

The Swiss stone pine seems unfazed, but spring will tell what the true toll is from this bizarre weather.

Wintry Friday

We got the school district's robocall at 5:30 AM: 2-hour delayed opening.  By 8:30 AM they called again: no school.  The kids were elated.  

The snow was gorgeous in the morning, turning the driveway into a little winter wonderland. By the afternoon it was slush.  Looks like more is on the way this week.

Winter Calm

The snow isn't lasting long with these balmy temps.

It's Snow Problem!

The forecast on Friday was for 6-12" of snow from the storm, then I saw 6-18" but that evening.  By yesterday afternoon it was 24-28".  We got at least two feet when it was all over.  

By yesterday afternoon, the view out on the deck was already ridiculous.  Those are some of the troughs on the left.

My wife and I shoveled our way out in the late afternoon, fearful that if we didn't, we'd never get out the front door today.

Snow selfie, or portrait of Sarah and Todd Palin, as my sister snarked.

My Subaru is under there.

The front garden, post-cleanup this morning.  I couldn't throw the snow any higher.

On the left is the driveway this morning.  On the right is the same view last Monday.

The tender plants were warm and cozy inside with us.

Remember when winter used to be spread out over a few months, instead of all delivered all at once?

What's Going On?

It was sixty degrees today, the 10th of January, and it rained like crazy.

Hellebores have started blooming, 

with more waiting in the wings.

It was 9 degrees Monday morning, and looks to be cold again this week.  The bitter cold day pretty much destroyed the nice show that the winter jasmine was putting on.  At least this chamaecyoaris thiodes 'Red Star' is doing its purply thing on schedule.

I love the pinkish cast it takes on in the winter.

Even soaking wet and windblown, I can appreciate the mix of evergreen sweet box, skimmia and pale grasses in the beds along the garage path.

Achoo!  Even the fern is still green this strange winter.

I don't know whether to root for winter to finally set in and stop this silliness, or for spring to just start and forget about snow and cold.  I feel like an insomniac at 4AM.  Should I keep trying to sleep or just admit it's over and make the coffee?