A new season

	Mostly Cloudy High 53° F Precip: 20% A mix of clouds and sun early followed by cloudy skies this afternoon. High 53F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.		Showers Low 37° F Precip: 70% Light rain early...then remaining cloudy with showers overnight. Low 37F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
	Sunrise: 6:38 AM		Sunset: 7:05 PM

Spring has officially been here for 6 days, but this week started out cold and windy! However, the garden must be attended to, and two weekends ago we began cleaning and rebuilding the yard. Looking back over my blog posts from last spring, I found that I've started gardening nearly 2 weeks earlier!

Last year we had to start from scratch, and it was very nice this year to go out to the garden plot and simply turn over the compost. I planted lettuce, mesclun, spinach, and radish seeds--all good for cooler weather. As the frost free date is 2 months away here in New England, I went down to the hardware store and bought a giant sheet of clear plastic to cover the plot. The south side of it was still frozen, but I managed to find enough frost-free dirt for 6 rows. I secured the plastic with the rocks that had risen through the soil over the winter, and within an hour the underside was already coated with moisture--a sign of the sun's thawing the dirt. I checked yesterday and many of the seeds have sprouted. A good sign in 38 degree weather!

As Jon did not have to dig out a cable trench or any stumps, he spent the day building a wonderful cold frame. I will have to post a picture because it really is nicely constructed. In a month or so I will be able to harden off seedlings. He used two of our extra storm windows and the remains of some kitchen cabinets that had been damaged in one of the many garage flash floods (we still don't know where the water comes from!). It is just off the patio, and receives full sun all day long.

The tulips are coming up around our dogwood trees in the back, and out front the crocus are blooming. The front rock area seems to have taken a hit over the winter by the chipmunks. I can't find a single daffodil. I'm hoping they are just taking their time! I will have to plant more in the fall. This does leave room for the lavendar I plan on putting in though.

I'm happy to report that some of the herbs are coming back! I noticed the Greek oregano sprouting the other day--a herb I thought would be killed by our freezing, long winter. Also the chives are very green and spreading. If the rosemary and thyme come back there will be very little to replace. I'm keeping my eye out.

We've started a new season, and have a solid plan for the vegetable garden. Some of the changes will be tomatoes in pots near the patio or in the front yard, more bush beans rather than pole beans, and hopefully a pumpkin that grows!

Imbolc and Candlemass

Partly Cloudy High 17° F Partly cloudy. Cold. High 17F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Sunrise: 6:55 AM	Partly Cloudy Low 3° F Partly cloudy. Low 3F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Sunset: 5:05 PM

"If Candlemas Day is clear and bright, / winter will have another bite. / If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain, / winter is gone and will not come again.

Groundhog day was Monday, and boy did that sucker hide. Groundhog day was brought over by German immigrants, and is actually a holiday that is celebrated in many cultures and religions for as long as civilization has been around. It is celebrated on February 2, which is the halfway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere. Also known as Imbolc and Candlemass, the groundhog is only one of the manifestations of a spring prophecy. The Scottish used a snake, the Celts used Cailleach, the hag, and some English used bears or wolves. Celtic legend states that Cailleach gathers her firewood for the rest of the winter on this day, and if it is sunny and bright she can gather a lot of wood...meaning winter will last longer.

"Down with the rosemary, and so

Down with the bays and mistletoe;

Down with the holly, ivy, all,

Wherewith ye dress'd the Christmas Hall"

— Robert Herrick (1591–1674), "Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve"

February 2nd is also the day to take down any remaining holiday decorations! Although your trees may have already been taken down, many wreaths (and our outdoor lights!) still hang. This is the time to hang a spring wreath or use other decorations. Candlemass has the word "candle" in it because many people burn candles in their windows to show a cheery home and to welcome spring. I myself lit the candles in our unused fireplace and it made the room feel very warm and homey.

So this is a gardening blog...oh yes. Well, I keep reading in the papers how the groundhog is wrong and that we will be cold for another 6 weeks no matter what, and I really want to remind people of one thing: this tradition is not an American one, and does not represent American weather patterns! These traditions come from western Europe, and the main thing that western Europe has going for it is the warm Gulf Stream. The latitude of that part of the world is considerably further north, but February 2 is also the beginning of the planting season in many of these countries and recognized as the first day of spring. As the ground does not usually get a hard freeze (but as I write this London is "buried" under 5 inches of snow) so seeds can begin to be planted for early plants like lettuce and beans. Comparing a hardiness map of Europe with one of the US, we see that much of western Europe is in zones 10-8. Those zones in the US are all south of the Mason-Dixie line! While these zones are all pretty cold right now due to the arctic air that seems to be hell bent on pushing further south this year, in 4 weeks--the "early spring" of the groundhog--these zones will be averaging 70 degree days with nights at 50. At that time in zone 6, we will be averaging 40 degree days with nights at 20. That's a big difference.

So I think people should lay off the groundhog...

Our backyard is under 2 feet of snow, and the past two days have been frigid. Saturday is due to warm up to a wonderful 40 degrees, but with the amount of snow around the air will have a hard time getting here. Next week they are expecting the low 30s, and it will be nice to get to the freezing point again.

It's currently 8 degrees with a warming sun. But I was just looking at some flower pictures, and cannot wait for the tulips and daffodils of April and May!

A silent garden in December

Sunny High 41° F Plentiful sunshine. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Sunrise: 6:58 AM	Mostly Clear Low 31° F A few passing clouds. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph. Sunset: 4:13 PM

While we still have over two weeks until the calendar start of Winter, it's already here. While the greater Boston area has not had snow, other parts of the northeast have already had their first snowfall of the season. Darkness falls early, and it's getting to be that time of year when seeing the sun is a treat. During the Thanksgiving holiday I was in Carlisle, PA, and the extra 1/2 hour of daylight they get was wonderful! The 9 hours of sunlight each day do not leave me any time to be outside during the week, and I'm looking forward to Saturday to do a quick look around the garden in the sunlight rather than by star or flashlight! The stars have been clear though lately, and the triangle of Venus, Jupiter, and the Moon this week was beautiful.

Over the past holiday weekend, I got the chance to work out in a garden! It was my mother-in-law's garden on her farm, and while the ground had already frozen some, we worked to dig up the Canna plants for the winter. We filled about 5 grain sacks of tubers, which she said was more than she planted the previous spring. Luckily, I got to take a sack home. As the plants need full sunshine (and grow to 6 feet!) there is limited space in my own garden for them, but I plan on sharing with my sister and sister-in-law come spring. Which made my sister happy as she is redoing doing her beds next year and she said the Canna tubers can be fairly expensive (about $10 for 3). Now the sack is on my 3-season porch, where it hopefully won't freeze. In the spring, I plan to put them in my front yard against our derelict fence. There is an old stump there that will probably need to come out, but the small hillside gets full sun and I'm hoping they will do well.

Even though I did not get a chance to put in any more spring bulbs, I've been browsing through some catalogs to begin planning next year's garden. Pinetree Garden Seeds, Garden's Supply Company, and Breck's (for bulbs) have all given me good ideas. I want to expand the cutting garden, develop the front yard to the right of the driveway, do more with the rock garden, and expand the vegitable gardens.

Lots to plan!

Enjoy the holidays!

Freeze warnings

Clear Low 33° F Mainly clear skies. Low 33F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Sunset: 5:57 PM	Sunny High 57° F Precip: 10% Mainly sunny. High 57F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Sunrise: 7:05 AM

There is a freeze advisory tonight for our region, which means the killing frost will most likely set in. Outside right now you can see your breath and would be uncomfortable without a jacket and even a hat for more than 5 minutes! I went out a few minutes ago to cut the last of the cosmos and zinnias. They would be blackened tomorrow, but are still so pretty! There haven't been any new blooms recently, but the ones out there have done well in the cool days we've had.

We have been working on putting the garden to rest for the winter. The colors in New England this fall have been wonderful so far, and this weekend brought a steady wind to shake a lot of the leaves off the trees. There are still two very green trees in our back yard that won't change until late-October or November, which means more raking! Our first town leaf pick up in next Saturday and we only have 6 bags so far. Last year we put out 32, and I remember raking mostly in November, so I'm betting our next pick up in late November will have a high number.

Last weekend we harvested all the herbs, which are drying on our back porch. I froze rosemary, chives, and mint as they tend to keep the best that way. The back porch smells heavenly, and the herbs make a great decoration too! I've already been snipping some of the dried parts off to use in our dinners, but they won't be ready to take down for another week or so.

The vegetable garden is on its last legs, and I've covered 1/4 of it with a compost mixture. Jon and I are already making notes on what to plant for next year, and as we continue to enjoy this summer's green beans, I know they'll be back on the list!

Next weekend I'm turning my attention to the rock area in our front yard...I need to decorate it for Halloween!

As everything winds down for the season, I'm beginning to look at my houseplants to see what can do to make them more healthy. My spider plants and blue gingers were outside all summer and all doubled inside. My spider plant flowered, but since brining it back in does not get a lot of sunlight and has begun to brown underneath. Any tips? Daylight is sparse in our house!

Keep warm!
Some fall pics below!

Jon raking gathering and bunching the herbs
herbs drying out on the porch.

Week before Autumn Officially Starts

Sunny High 69° F Plentiful sunshine. High 69F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Sunrise: 6:29		Clear Low 39° F Mostly clear. Low 39F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Sunset: 6:49 PM

Fall begins Monday, but the signs that it was just around the corner have been here for a few weeks. There are apples and pumpkins in the fields, the leaves are starting to change--especially on the Maples--and this Friday night there is the chance of a first frost in New England. I've already switched from iced coffee to hot coffee in the morning, but I'm not sure I'm ready for the frosts yet. Although it will kill off the mosquitoes!

One thing that the frost will begin to do is kill the plants in the garden. While I am sure this will not be a killing frost (generally a heavy frost), the squash and tomatoes which are already on the way out will need to be composted afterwards. The flower garden should survive intact, as zinnia, snapdragon, and the sunflowers are resistant to light frosts. However, I'm hoping the cosmos will survive.

This weekend I am hoping to get the chance to clean up the garden a bit for the fall. The back lawn needs to be mowed, and I am going to begin to prepare the garden for winter. The compost heap has reduced itself again, so I'm sure that the bottom of it is black gold, ready to be spread across the soil. It's pretty amazing to watch it go down each day. A few weeks ago we had it filled with garden debris, and now you can't even tell what was in it! It's just a brown mushy pile.

This evening I will have to bring in the houseplants I had outside all summer. In June, I set out my two spider plants and my blue ginger plants. The spider plants had looked extremely anemic from being inside, and now they both have flowers and lots of new growth. The blue ginger plants, which I had brought back as root cuttings from Hawaii back in 2000, are tropical plants and loved the wet, humid summer we had. The trick is getting them to last another winter in New England! They loves lots of light and heat, which the winters up here don't tend to give. But, we are finishing our porch this weekend, so they will have a lot of light for another month at least while being sheltered from the cold nights. Remember that when you bring in houseplants from their outdoor life you should check them thoroughly for aphids and other critters! I plan to move mine inside in stages. First the porch for a few days or weeks, then inside next to the other plants. Otherwise all your houseplants could become infested.

I'm beginning to think about planting for the spring too. I don't know how many of my front tulips will come back in the rock garden, so I plan on putting in just a few there. But, I want to line the driveway and front paths with daffodils and tulips. Last year I think I put in 200, and it was a beautiful show! I may shoot for 500 this year. The bright flowers do help bring on spring! I have to begin researching types of bulbs. While my mother says the yellow and reds last longer, I do love the striped flowers, and deep purples too.

Lastly, in the spring my sister and I had both planted pumpkin seeds. I had visions of tangling vines with giant fruits overrunning my garden. My vine is 2 feet long and still flowering; not a single pumpkin grew. My sister, however, grew 3 pumpkins. One is a normal size, and the other two are smaller gourds. But, it's 3-0, so she is the official pumpkin champion of 2008. Neither of our watermelons produced anything substantial.

Next year, the giant pumpkin will be grown!